1986 Volume 13 Issue 6 Pages 1421-1425
An emulsion of fish oil (from sardines) rich in eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) was manufactured. One hundred ml of the emulsion contained 10g of fish oil, of which 3g was EPA. We administered 100ml of the emulsion to six rabbits intravenously on days 1 and 4. Blood samples were taken on days 0 and 7 and compared. The EPA content in serum phospholipids and phospholipids in red blood cell membranes increased about 10 and 4 times, respectively. Platelet aggregation induced by collagen (10μg/ml) and thrombin (0.3u/ml) was depressed significantly. Control experiments performed in exactly the same way except that soybean oil emulsion was used instead of fish oil emulsion produced almost no significant changes. High levels of EPA in serum and RBC membranes and depression of platelet aggregation were obtained by this method in a very short time.
