2020 Volume 73 Issue 5 Pages 199-205
To improve endurance performance, intake of n-3 fatty acid has been investigated, but studies on athletes have been limited. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of EPA and DHA intake for 24 months on blood fatty acid changes in female long-distance athletes. Twelve subjects took EPA 664 mg and DHA 284 mg daily for 24 months, and blood tests were conducted once a month. It was found that the EPA concentration increased by 126％ (p ＜ 0.01) after 3 months, whereas the AA concentration decreased by 17％ (p ＜ 0.05) a month after the start of the intervention. The EPA/AA ratio was increased by 110％ (p ＜ 0.01) after 3 months (0.86 ± 0.05) compared to that before the intervention (0.41 ± 0.04) and then shifted within the range 0.67‐0.98 (p ＜ 0.05 and p ＜ 0.01). On the other hand, there was no change in the blood levels of DHA. Therefore, it was suggested that daily intake of EPA and DHA may increase the EPA/AA ratio in female long-distance athletes.
