Abstract
The findings of an epidemiological study of Greenlandic Inuit suggested that fish oil （omega-3 fatty acids） was important in preventing atherosclerotic disease. After its landmark study, many large-scale epidemiological studies, clinical outcomes trials, and meta-analyses have examined the health benefits of omega-3 fatty acids as part of a diet rich in fatty acids. In Japan, the fisherman study at Kawazu, a village of Katsuura city in Chiba prefecture, also demonstrated the omega-3 rich diet contributes the prevention of cardiovascular diseases, and the highly concentrated eicosapentaenoic acid-ethyl ester was developed for the treatment of dyslipidemia. This article reviews studies on omega-3 fatty acids during the last 50 years including the progress of both molecular mechanism and recent large-scale clinical studies.
