Fish-oil concentrate: effects on variables related to cardiovascular disease

Sixty-four male, healthy volunteers aged 35-45 y were randomly assigned to receive (as 1-g capsules) either 14 g fish-oil concentrate/d (55% n-3 fatty acids) or 14 g olive oil/d for 6 wk. Plasma fibrinogen was reduced by 13% and serum triglycerides by 22% after fish-oil supplementation ended. Three weeks after supplementation ended both variables were back to baseline values. An appreciable increase in the ratio of eicosapentaenoic acid to arachidonic acid (EPA:AA) in plasma eicosapentaenoic acid to arachidonic acid (EPA:AA) in plasma and red blood cell phospholipids occurred during the fish-oil intake. High-density-lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and HDL2 activity tended to be lowered by fish-oil supplementation. Systolic and diastolic blood pressures, serum cholesterol, gamma-glutamyltransferase, blood glucose, and monocyte low-density-lipoprotein receptor activity did not differ significantly between the two groups. The reduction in plasma fibrinogen concentration seems of special interest because this variable in several recent studies emerges as a separate cardiovascular risk factor with a high predictive value.