Learn more about the particularities of DPA and seal oil through these scientific articles.

Year Author Model Main effects of ADP and seal oil on health Document
METABOLISM
2010 Kaur et al. Sprague Dawley Rats DPA increase DPA in all tissues and DHA in the liver. DPA also partly retro-converted to EPA in liver, adipose tissue, heart and skeletal muscle. The highest incorporation of DHA and DPA in the heart and skeletal muscle compared to the EPA, suggests that these PUFA could play an important role in these tissues. PDF
2011 Kaur et al. Rats The data show that the addition of hepatic cells with DPA (just like with EPA and DHA) down regulates the level of genes and key proteins involved in fat synthesis in liver cells. PDF
2011 Holub et al. Sprague Dawley Rats DPA increased DPA in heart and liver and increased EPA content with the retro-conversion particularly pronounced in the kidney. The serum lipid-lowering potential of dietary DPA and its impact in the kidney with the derived EPA warrants investigation. PDF
2013 Kaur et al. Wistar Rats DPA and DHA β-oxydized significantly less than EPA at 6 h, and higher incorporation of DPA and DHA in skeletal muscle and heart than EPA. PDF
2013 Miller et al.[1] Healthy women (21-30 years old) After 4 days supplementation DPA increased EPA, DPA and DHA content of plasma or RBC lipids, whereas EPA only increased EPA content. N/A
2013 Linderborg et al.[2] Healthy women (20-30 years old) EPA and DPA metabolized differently postprandially. DPA significantly decreased chylomicronemia compared to EPA. N/A
2014 Ghasemi Fard et al. Sprague Dawley Rats Greater excretion of DPA in feces than EPA. However, EPA and DPA similarly increased EPA, DPA and total long chain Omega-3 PUFAs in the liver. PDF
NEUROPROTECTION
2011 Kelly et al.[3] Young rats (20-22 months) and aged rats (3-4 months) EPA increased cortical tissue DPA and DHA in young and old rats and EPA in old rats, whereas DPA increased DPA in young and old rats and DHA in young rats. EPA and DPA similarly down-regulated age-related microglial activation, decreased activation of sphingomyelinase and caspase 3 and restored long-term potentiation and improved spatial memory in the aged rats. N/A
ANTI-INFLAMMATORY
2014 Aursnes et al. Mouse neutrophils and human macrophages DPA-derived PD1n-3 DPA significantly reduced neutrophil recruitment during peritonitis of mice and stimulated macrophage phagocytosis and clearance of apoptotic human neutrophils, both to a similar extent to DHA-derived PD1. PDF
2014 Tungen et al. Human Macrophages DPA-derived MaR1n-3 DPA stimulated macrophage phagocytosis and clearance of apoptotic human neutrophils to a similar extent to that of DHA-derived Mar1. N/A
2014 Caroline Morin[4] Wistar Rats The DPA supplementation is able to modify the Omega-3 / Omega-6 diet, thus providing anti-inflammatory and anti-proliferative properties to DPA metabolites. MAG-DPA represents a stable compound which could serve as a precursor for generating a variety of mediators such as resolvins and protectins, both of which can reduce cellular inflammation. Therefore, DPA might be an important factor in pulmonary illnesses characterized by excess airway inflammation. PDF
2015 Skulas-Ray Healthy humans (20-65 years old) A low level of red blood cells containing DPA is associated with higher levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) and triglycerides. These associations may have important implications for the prevention of atherosclerosis and chronic inflammatory diseases. PDF
2015 Caroline Morin Complete Freund's Adjuvant rats (CFA) EPA and DPA showed a significant reduction in the progression and severity of arthritic disease in CFA rats. Following treatments of EPA and DPA, plasma levels of proinflammatory cytokines and tumor necrosis factor were significantly lower compared to untreated CFA rats. PDF
HEART HEALTH
1996 Aursnes et al. Rats Maximum stimulation of endothelial cells (EC) migration by DPA pretreatment (0.5 ug/ml) was achieved at a concentration one-tenth of that required for maximal stimulation by EPA pretreatment (5.0 ug/ml), indicating that DPA is a potent stimulator of EC migration/…/ these data suggest that the stimulative effect of EPA on EC migration occurs via DPA, and that DPA may act as a powerful anti-atherogenic factor. N/A
2010 Neil J. Mann Healthy humans (20-50 years old) The beneficial effects of seal oil supplementation were superior to those of tuna oil, which contained a similar amount of Omega-3, but much more DHA, less EPA, and a minimal amount of DPA. Our findings suggest that DPA, either directly or by retro-conversion through EPA, may be more effective in reducing certain risk factors for cardiovascular disease than DHA. /.../ this study suggests that seal oil can already be used in modified foods as a preventive measure for healthy people or as a treatment aid for people with cardiovascular disease or thrombosis. PDF
2009 Phang et al [5] Human Platelets (ex vivo) AEP was significantly more effective in reducing platelet aggregation compared with DPA and DHA Omega-3. However, different effects have been observed depending on the sex: for women all three Omega-3 were effective, but for men, EPA was more effective than DPA and DHA. N/A
LOWERING TRIGLYCERIDE LEVELS
2009 Meyer Hypertriglyceridemic subjects Plasma triglycerides remained unchanged in the placebo group, while reductions of 7 and 14% (P < 0.05) were seen in the fish oil and seal oil groups respectively. Systolic blood pressure improved by 8 and 5 mmHg with seal oil and fish oil respectively (P < 0.05). The mean arterial pressure was significantly lower after seal oil supplementation (P < 0.005) compared with the placebo group. These results indicate that seal oil is as effective as fish oil in lowering plasma triglycerides and blood pressure. PDF
OTHERS
1999 Xiao W et al. Microemulsions Omega-3s in seal oil are relatively more stable and less prone to lipid peroxidation than in fish oil. N/A
2011 Cheema BioF1B Hamsters Unlike fish oil, seal oil did not induce milky plasma in BioF1B hamsters. A seal oil diet showed lower levels of lipids in plasma and liver, as well as reduced levels of plasma and oxidative stress in the liver compared to a fish oil diet. The results of these findings suggest that the human population with Lipoprotein Lipase Deficiency (LPL) may have more health benefits from seal oil supplementation than fish oil. PDF
2015 Evan Lewis Male Athletes 21 days supplementation in PUFA N-3 increased the concentration of EPA PUFA n-3 in plasma. Neuromuscular function has been improved through enhanced muscle activation performance and sprint cycling performance was maintained from attenuated Wingate percent power drop. This is one of the first studies to use seal oil Omega-3 supplement as opposed to fish oil which is most commonly used. Seal oil was chosen because mammalian (seal) triacylglycerol molecules have Omega-3 fats primarily in the sn-1 and sn-3 positions, as opposed to the sn-2 position of fish oil. Fats in the sn-3 position are preferentially cleaved by sublingual lipases, and the sn-1 fat is cleaved in the small intestine, while the sn-2 fatty acid is left for later esterification. This difference has been shown to promote faster digestion of N-3 seal oil leading to higher incorporation in non-hepatic tissues. PDF

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