Fish oil consumption and decreased risk of cardiovascular disease: a comparison of findings from animal and human feeding trials.

There is growing evidence that dietary n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs), abundant in marine organisms, may reduce the development of cardiovascular disease. Because of this, results of laboratory animal and human volunteer feeding trials (using fatty fish, fish oils, or purified n-3 PUFAs) that have examined similar biochemical and metabolic parameters are compared. The limited data reveal that laboratory animal and human volunteers show many similar responses in certain parameters (ie, serum lipids, lipoproteins, trigacylglycerides, cholesterol, etc), to the consumption of n-3 PUFAs. The biochemical and metabolic changes observed are generally consistent with reduced development of cardiovascular disease. However, comparisons between species are limited because relatively few comparable feeding trials have focused on the effects of fish oils on thromboxane, prostacyclin, platelet aggregation, etc. Limitations of the studies and needed research are discussed.