NO EFFECT OF A VERY-LOW DOSE OF N-3 FATTY-ACIDS ON MONOCYTE FUNCTION IN HEALTHY HUMANS

There is some evidence that intake of sea food rich in n-3 polyunsatur ated fatty acids (PUFA) may protect against coronary heart disease (CH D). Thus, even very low daily amounts of n-3 PUFA below 0.5 g have bee n reported to reduce the incidence of CHD, although it is unknown by w hat mechanisms this may occur. Monocytes are of major importance in at herogenesis, and we therefore studied the effect of a daily supplement with 0.65 g of n-3 PUFA for 12 weeks on monocyte function in a random ized placebo-controlled trial of 32 healthy subjects. No effect of die tary n-3 PUFA could be demonstrated on monocyte chemotaxis, on chemilu minescence, or on formation of cytokines and leukotriene B-4 from acti vated monocytes.