Institute of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Leibniz University Hannover, Germany.
Lipids Health Dis. 2011 Aug 22;10:145. doi: 10.1186/1476-511X-10-145.
Bioavailability of omega-3 fatty acids (FA) depends on their chemical form. Superior bioavailability has been suggested for phospholipid (PL) bound omega-3 FA in krill oil, but identical doses of different chemical forms have not been compared.
In a double-blinded crossover trial, we compared the uptake of three EPA+DHA formulations derived from fish oil (re-esterified triacylglycerides [rTAG], ethyl-esters [EE]) and krill oil (mainly PL). Changes of the FA compositions in plasma PL were used as a proxy for bioavailability. Twelve healthy young men (mean age 31 y) were randomized to 1680 mg EPA+DHA given either as rTAG, EE or krill oil. FA levels in plasma PL were analyzed pre-dose and 2, 4, 6, 8, 24, 48, and 72 h after capsule ingestion. Additionally, the proportion of free EPA and DHA in the applied supplements was analyzed.
The highest incorporation of EPA+DHA into plasma PL was provoked by krill oil (mean AUC0-72 h: 80.03 ± 34.71%*h), followed by fish oil rTAG (mean AUC0-72 h: 59.78 ± 36.75%*h) and EE (mean AUC0-72 h: 47.53 ± 38.42%*h). Due to high standard deviation values, there were no significant differences for DHA and the sum of EPA+DHA levels between the three treatments. However, a trend (p = 0.057) was observed for the differences in EPA bioavailability. Statistical pair-wise group comparison's revealed a trend (p = 0.086) between rTAG and krill oil. FA analysis of the supplements showed that the krill oil sample contained 22% of the total EPA amount as free EPA and 21% of the total DHA amount as free DHA, while the two fish oil samples did not contain any free FA.
Further studies with a larger sample size carried out over a longer period are needed to substantiate our findings and to determine differences in EPA+DHA bioavailability between three common chemical forms of LC n-3 FA (rTAG, EE and krill oil). The unexpected high content of free EPA and DHA in krill oil, which might have a significant influence on the availability of EPA+DHA from krill oil, should be investigated in more depth and taken into consideration in future trials.
ω-3 脂肪酸（FA）的生物利用度取决于其化学形式。已有人提出磷酯（PL）结合的 ω-3 FA 在磷虾油中的生物利用度更高，但尚未比较过不同化学形式的相同剂量。
在一项双盲交叉试验中，我们比较了源自鱼油（再酯化三酰基甘油 [rTAG]、乙酯 [EE]）和磷虾油（主要为 PL）的三种 EPA+DHA 制剂的摄取情况。血浆 PL 中的 FA 组成变化被用作生物利用度的替代指标。12 名健康年轻男性（平均年龄 31 岁）被随机分为三组，每组分别给予 1680mg EPA+DHA，其来源分别为 rTAG、EE 或磷虾油。在胶囊摄入前、摄入后 2、4、6、8、24、48 和 72 小时分析血浆 PL 中的 FA 水平。此外，还分析了应用补充剂中游离 EPA 和 DHA 的比例。
磷虾油引起的 EPA+DHA 掺入血浆 PL 最高（AUC0-72 h 的平均值：80.03 ± 34.71%*h），其次是鱼油 rTAG（AUC0-72 h 的平均值：59.78 ± 36.75%*h）和 EE（AUC0-72 h 的平均值：47.53 ± 38.42%*h）。由于标准差值较高，三种处理之间在 DHA 和 EPA+DHA 水平总和方面没有显著差异。然而，在 EPA 生物利用度方面观察到了一种趋势（p = 0.057）。统计上两两组比较揭示了 rTAG 和磷虾油之间的一种趋势（p = 0.086）。补充剂的 FA 分析表明，磷虾油样品中总 EPA 量的 22%为游离 EPA，总 DHA 量的 21%为游离 DHA，而两种鱼油样品均不含游离 FA。
需要进行更大样本量、更长时间的进一步研究，以证实我们的发现，并确定三种常见 LC n-3 FA（rTAG、EE 和磷虾油）的 EPA+DHA 生物利用度之间的差异。应该更深入地研究并在未来的试验中考虑磷虾油中游离 EPA 和 DHA 含量高的这一意外发现，因为其可能对磷虾油中 EPA+DHA 的可用性有重大影响。
