A pilot study

Effects of dietary supplementation with α-linolenic acid-enriched perilla seed oil on bronchial asthma

抄録

N-3 fatty acids, such as fish oil, have been reported to have some beneficial effects in patients with bronchial asthma. The effects of dietary supplementation with perilla seed oil rich in α-linolenic acid (α-LNA), parent n-3 fatty acid, were studied in five patients with asthma. The symptoms of asthma and mean peak flow rates (PFR) both early in the morning and in the evening were improved 2 weeks after dietary supplementation and the increases in PFR were significant (P<0.05). The generation of leukotriene B₄ (LTB₄) by peripheral leukocytes stimulated with the Ca²⁺ ionophore A23187 was significantly suppressed from 77.6 to 41.6ng/5×10⁶ cells by dietary supplementation (P<0.05). The generation of leukotriene C₄ (LTC₄) by leukocytes was also significantly suppressed from 64.0 to 38.8ng/5×10⁶ cells after supplementation with perilla seed oil (P<0.05). These results suggest that dietary supplementation with perilla seed oil is beneficial for the treatment of asthma.