Beneficial effect of salmon roe phosphatidylcholine in chronic liver disease

Phosphatidylcholine (PC), especially dilinoleoyl-PC, has been reported to b e effective in preventing hepatic fibrosis in chronically alcohol-fed baboo ns. Continuous hepatic inflammation predisposes the structure of the liver to fibrosis. Since n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) have been shown t o exhibit an anti-inflammatory effect, we tested the hypothesis that n-3 PU FA PC as a dietary supplement has a beneficial effect on chronic liver dise ase susceptible to fibrosis. Salmon roe phospholipids, 90% of which are PC, were extracted and encapsulated Almost a third of the PC fatty acids were docosahexaenoic acid (22:6 n3) and 10% were eicosapentanoic acid (20:5 n3). About 1600 mg/day of the phospholipids was administered for six months to six chronic liver disease patients, Sour with hepatitis B infection (three with cirrhosis, one with chronic hepatitis), one with hepatitis C virus cir rhosis and one with alcoholic cirrhosis. There was no change in the results of blood chemistry studies related to liver function, except in globulin, which decreased from 3.80 g/dl to 3.67 g/dl (p < 0.05). Among the lipid par ameters, HDL-cholesterol, apolipoprotein A-I and apolipoprotein E increased significantly. Although this was a small trial, n-3 PUFA PC may be benefic ial in the treatment of chronic liver diseases.