Flow-mediated Vasodilation Response to Ingestion of Omega-3-rich Sacha-inchi Oil:A Noninvasive Evaluation of a Functional Food for Human Vascular

Abstract

　In this study, we designed a noninvasive method to evaluate functional foods for improvements in endothelial function. Omega-3 fatty acids are known to exert cardio-protective effects, including improvement of endothelial function. Endothelial dysfunction is an early event in hypertension and arteriosclerosis, and can lead to blood pressure increases and formation of plaques that block blood flow. The flow-mediated vasodilation (FMD) response is considered to represent endothelial function. Oil from the seeds of Sacha-inchi (Plukenetia volubilis L.) contains 45.5% α-linolenic acid (ω3) of total fatty acid content, while canola oil contains only 9.7% α-linolenic acid. Twenty healthy subjects (10 males and 10 females; age 21.6 ±0.83 years) were given a single dose of 350mg Sacha-inchi oil or canola oil. FMD of the subjects was 11.2 ±2.53% at baseline. Three hours after ingesting Sacha-inchi oil, the FMD of the subjects increased to 17.2 ±1.82%. Ingesting canola oil resulted in an FMD increase to only 11.7 ±2.05%. These findings suggest that Sacha-inchi oil can improve endothelial function. We suggest that FMD-based evaluation of functional foods is a viable tool for assessing their efficacy in promoting human vascular health.