Krill Oil Has Different Effects on the Plasma Lipidome Compared with Fish Oil Following 30 Days of Supplementation in Healthy Women: A Randomized Controlled and Crossover Study.

This is a follow-up of our previous postprandial study and it focused on the plasma lipidomic responses to 30 days of krill oil (KO) versus fish oil (FO) supplementations in healthy women. Eleven women (aged 18-50 years) consumed KO or FO for 30 days in a randomized, cross-over study, with at least a four-week washout period between supplementations. The daily supplements provided 1.27 g/day of long-chain (LC) omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) from KO (containing 0.76 g eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), 0.42 g docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)) and 1.44 g/day from FO (containing 0.79 g EPA, 0.47 g DHA). Fasting plasma samples at days 0, 15, and 30 were analyzed using gas chromatography and liquid chromatography electrospray ionisation-tandem mass spectrometry. KO resulted in a significantly greater relative area under the curve (relAUC) for plasma EPA after 30 days. Lipidomic analysis showed that 26 of 43 lipid molecular species had a significantly greater relAUC in the KO group, while 17/43 showed a significantly lower relAUC compared with the FO group. More than 38% of the lipids species which increased more following KO contained omega-3 PUFA, while where FO was greater than KO, only 12% contained omega-3 PUFA. These data show that KO and FO do not have equivalent effects on the plasma lipidome.

Differential plasma postprandial lipidomic responses to krill oil and fish oil supplementations in women: A randomized crossover study.

OBJECTIVES: There is no convincing evidence that krill oil (KO) consumption results in a higher incorporation of long chain ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids into blood lipid fractions than fish oil (FO). This study examined the postprandial plasma lipidomic responses to KO supplementation compared with FO supplementation in healthy women. METHODS: Ten women (aged 18-45 y) consumed a high-fat (15 g of olive oil) breakfast, supplemented with 5 g of KO or FO in a randomized crossover study with a minimum 7-d washout period between the supplementations. Plasma samples collected at the fasting state and at 3 and 5 h postprandially were analyzed using liquid chromatography electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry. RESULTS: After the supplementations, 5 out of 34 lipid classes or subclasses had significantly greater concentrations from KO compared with FO. There were 27 molecular species including 5 ether-phospholipid species, out of a total of 701, which had significant differences between supplementations in the postprandial period. Eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid from KO were preferentially partitioned toward phospholipid molecular species, whereas eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid from FO were preferentially partitioned toward neutral lipids.

Postprandial long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid response to krill oil and fish oil consumption in healthy women: a randomised controlled, single-dose, crossover study.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Krill oil (KO) and fish oil (FO) are good sources of health-benefiting long chain n- 3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC n-3 PUFA), EPA and DHA. There are conflicting outcomes on the bioavailability of LC n-3 PUFA from KO compared with FO. This study investigated the postprandial incorporation of LC n- 3 PUFA into plasma lipids following consumption of 5 capsules of KO or FO in comparison with olive oil (OO) control in healthy women. METHODS AND STUDY DESIGN: 10 women (aged 18-45 years) consumed a high-fat (15 g) breakfast, supplemented with 5 g of KO, FO, or OO in a random order with a minimum seven-day washout period between the supplementations. The LC n-3 PUFA content in KO was 907 mg compared with 1441 mg in FO. Blood samples were collected in the fasting state and for the next 5 hours after test meal consumption on an hourly basis. RESULTS: Significant increases in plasma EPA concentrations were observed starting at 2 h after KO and FO consumption (p<0.05). There were no significant changes in either DHA or DPA between the three groups. The increases in plasma EPA concentrations were similar between the KO and FO groups (p>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The lower dose (31%) of EPA from KO led to a similar plasma EPA concentration as in the FO group, suggesting that EPA from KO may be more efficiently incorporated into plasma. This may be related to the high content of phospholipids and free fatty acids in KO.