Effect of moderate freshwater fish diet on erythrocyte ghost phospholipid fatty acids.

Dose responses over 12 weeks of meals containing fish on erythrocyte phospholipids were studied in male students. In all major glycerophospholipids the proportions of long chain n-3 fatty acids increased at the expense of n-6 fatty acids with 1.5 meals a week containing fish (0.5 g n-3 fatty acids per day). The rates and magnitudes of changes varied for individual phospholipids: faster but quantitatively smaller changes occurred in phosphatidylcholine than in phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylserine. Fish diet and fish oil studies have usually been made using large doses over a short time. Our results show that similar effects might result from smaller amounts given over a longer time.