Department of Pharmacology and Physiology.
Research Center on Aging, Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada.
Am J Clin Nutr. 2017 Aug;106(2):467-474. doi: 10.3945/ajcn.117.154708. Epub 2017 Jun 28.
Plasma eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and arachidonic acid (AA) concentrations increase with age. The aim of this study was to evaluate EPA and AA metabolism in young and old men by using uniformly labeled carbon-13 (C) fatty acids. Six young (∼25 y old) and 6 old (∼75 y old) healthy men were recruited. Each participant consumed a single oral dose of 35 mg C-EPA and its metabolism was followed in the course of 14 d in the plasma and 28 d in the breath. After the washout period of ≥28 d, the same participants consumed a single oral dose of 50 mg C-AA and its metabolism was followed for 28 d in plasma and breath. There was a time × age interaction for C-EPA ( = 0.008), and the shape of the postprandial curves was different between young and old men. The C-EPA plasma half-life was ∼2 d for both young and old men ( = 0.485). The percentage dose recovered of C-EPA per hour as CO and the cumulative β-oxidation of C-EPA did not differ between young and old men. At 7 d, however, old men had a >2.2-fold higher plasma C-DHA concentration synthesized from C-EPA compared with young men ( = 0.03). C-AA metabolism was not different between young and old men. The C-AA plasma half-life was ∼4.4 d in both young and old participants ( = 0.589). The metabolism of C-AA was not modified by age, whereas C-EPA metabolism was slightly but significantly different in old compared with young men. The higher plasma C-DHA seen in old men may be a result of slower plasma DHA clearance with age. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT02957188.
血浆二十碳五烯酸 (EPA) 和花生四烯酸 (AA) 浓度随年龄增长而增加。本研究旨在通过使用统一标记的碳-13 (C) 脂肪酸来评估年轻和老年男性的 EPA 和 AA 代谢。招募了 6 名年轻（约 25 岁）和 6 名老年（约 75 岁）健康男性。每位参与者口服 35 毫克 C-EPA，在 14 天的血浆和 28 天的呼吸中跟踪其代谢。在≥28 天的洗脱期后，相同的参与者口服 50 毫克 C-AA，在血浆和呼吸中跟踪其代谢 28 天。C-EPA 存在时间×年龄交互作用（= 0.008），且年轻和老年男性的餐后曲线形状不同。C-EPA 血浆半衰期在年轻和老年男性中约为 2 天（= 0.485）。每小时 C-EPA 作为 CO 回收的剂量百分比和 C-EPA 的累积β-氧化没有区别。然而，在 7 天时，与年轻男性相比，老年男性由 C-EPA 合成的血浆 C-DHA 浓度高出>2.2 倍（= 0.03）。C-AA 代谢在年轻和老年男性之间没有区别。C-AA 血浆半衰期在年轻和老年参与者中约为 4.4 天（= 0.589）。C-AA 代谢不受年龄影响，而与年轻男性相比，老年男性的 C-EPA 代谢略有但显著不同。老年男性血浆中较高的 C-DHA 可能是由于随着年龄增长 DHA 清除率减慢所致。本试验在 clinicaltrials.gov 上注册为 NCT02957188。
