New Nutrigenomic Discovery
Posted on 17. Sep, 2009 by Guy Edwards in Nutrition & Lifestyle
A nutrigenomic study has shown for the first time that long term consumption of fish oil positively influences the gene expression of immune cells in humans.
The new findings come from a Dutch research group and were reported in the July 2009 issue of The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. In this report healthy elderly subjects were assigned to either 1.8 grams daily of fish oil, 0.4 grams daily of fish oil or 0.4 grams daily of high oleic sunflower oil (control) for 26 weeks. At base line and the end of the intervention subjects blood samples were taken and immune cells (peripheral blood mononuclear cells) were analyzed for changes in 17,699 genes. The research group found that a high fish oil intake changed the expression of 1040 genes, whereas sunflower oil intake changed the expression of only 298 genes. Specifically fish oil resulted in “a decreased expression of genes involved in inflammatory- and atherogenic-related pathways, such as nuclear transcription factor kappaB signaling, eicosanoid synthesis, scavenger receptor activity, adipogenesis, and hypoxia signaling.” Leading the authors to conclude that intake of fish oil can alter the gene expression profiles of immune cells to a more antiinflammatory and antiatherogenic status.
Guy’s Comment: Nutrigenomic discovery (how nutrition effects the reproduction of DNA) is continuously highlighting the profound impact of small dietary molecules on cellular function and the development of disease. The finding that eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) from fish oil can positively influence the expression of over a thousand genes in a single cell type, in this case human immune cells, speaks to the immense and often under appreciated role of nutrition in medicine.
This is not to mention the profound effects that fish oil has been shown to exert on the behavior of children and lengthening of attention their spans.
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Sources: Bouwens M et al. Fish-oil supplementation induces anti-inflammatory gene expression profiles in human blood mononuclear cells. Am J Clin Nutr. 2009 Jun 10.
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