EFFECT OF MARINE OILS SUPPLEMENTATION ON COAGULATION AND CELLULAR ACTIVATION IN WHOLE-BLOOD

A study was performed to explore the effects of supplemental intake of various marine oils known to be part of the Eskimo diet. Healthy men and women (134) were randomly selected to consume 15 mL/d of oil from blubber of seal, cod liver, seal/cod liver, blubber of Minke whale, or no oil for ten weeks. Total cholesterol was unchanged in the oil grou ps, whereas high density lipoprotein cholesterol increased 7% in the s eal/cod liver oil (CLO) group (P < 0.05) and 11% in the whale oil grou p (P < 0.005). Triacylglycerol was significantly reduced in the CLO gr oup only. The concentration of prothrombin fragment 1 + 2 was reduced 25% (P < 0.05) after whale oil supplementation. No change in fibrinoge n or factor Vile was detected. Tumor necrosis factor generation in lip opolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated blood was 30% reduced after whale oil (P < 0.05), but was unaffected by intake of seal or CLO. The LPS-indu ced tissue factor activity in monocytes was reduced to a significant d egree only in the seal/CLO group (34%) and whale oil group (35%) (P < 0.05). The most dramatic change in thromboxane B-2 in LPS-stimulated b lood was seen after whale oil intake with 44% reduction (P < 0.01). Su pplementation of a regular diet with a combination of seal oil and CLO and especially with whale oil seems to have beneficial effects on sev eral products thought to be associated with cardiovascular and thrombo tic diseases.