Comparison of the Increment in Plasma Eicosapentaenoate Concentrations by Fish Oil Intake between Young and Middle-Aged Volunteers

Abstract

The effect of age on eicosapentaenoic acid (20:5 n-3; EPA) incorporation into plasma lipids was investigated in young volunteers (8 males, 19±1 yr) and middle-aged volunteers (6 males, 53±7 yr). They were asked to take 5.4g fish oil per day for one week. The increment in EPA in the cholesteryl ester fraction after the supplementation was significantly greater in the middle-aged group (d=1.69%) than in the young group (d=0.44%) (p<0.05). The food intake analyzed for 3 consecutive days just before the supplementation revealed that the young group took more linoleate (17 vs. 10g) than the middle-aged group. There was a significant inverse correlation between the increment in EPA in the cholesteryl ester fraction after the supplementation and daily linoleate intake among all the volunteers combined (γ=-0.63, p<0.02). The higher increment in EPA in cholesteryl ester in the middle-aged group might be due to less intake of linoleate and not due to the difference in age itself.