Systemic evening primrose oil improves the biophysical skin parameters of healthy adults.

Biophysical skin parameters are indicators of age-related structural and functional changes in skin tissues. This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study in healthy adults tested the effect of Efamol evening primrose oil [EPO, a gamma-linolenic acid (GLA) containing vegetable oil] on skin moisture, transepidermal water loss (TEWL), redness, firmness, elasticity, fatigue resistance and roughness. Efamol EPO was administered orally in soft gel capsules, 3 x 500 mg b.

Lack of effect of foods enriched with plant- or marine-derived n-3 fatty acids on human immune function.

Background: Greatly increasing dietary flaxseed oil [rich in the n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) alpha-linolenic acid (ALA)] or fish oil [rich in the long-chain n-3 PUFAs eicosapentaenoic (EPA) and docosahexaenoic (DHA) acids] can reduce markers of immune cell function. The effects of more modest doses are unclear, and it is not known whether ALA has the same effects as its long-chain derivatives.

Objective: The objective was to determine the effects of enriching the diet with ALA or EPA+DHA on immune outcomes representing key functions of human neutrophils, monocytes, and lymphocytes.

Plant- and marine-derived n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids have differential effects on fasting and postprandial blood lipid concentrations and on the susceptibility of LDL to oxidative modification in moderately hyperlipidemic subjects.

Background: Dietary alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) can be converted to long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in humans and may reproduce some of the beneficial effects of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) on cardiovascular disease risk factors.

Objective: This study aimed to compare the effects of increased dietary intakes of ALA and EPA+DHA on a range of atherogenic risk factors.

Design: This was a placebo-controlled, parallel study involving 150 moderately hyperlipidemic subjects randomly assigned to 1 of 5 interventions: 0.

Influence of formulas with borage oil or borage oil plus fish oil on the arachidonic acid status in premature infants.

Several studies have reported that feeding gamma-linolenic acid (GLA) has resulted in no increase in arachidonic acid (AA) in newborns. This result was ascribed to the eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA)-rich fish oil used in these formulas. Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) sources with only minor amounts of EPA are now available, thus the addition of GLA to infant formulas might be considered an alternative to AA supplementation.

Prevention of nerve conduction deficit in diabetic rats by polyunsaturated fatty acids.

The influence of diets containing gamma-linolenic acid (GLA; 18:3n-6) on sciatic nerve conduction velocity (NCV) was determined in diabetic rats. NCV was lower in diabetic rats fed diets supplemented with olive oil or sunflower seed oil than in nondiabetic rats; rats supplemented with GLA during a 5-wk diabetic period, however, did not exhibit significantly lower NCV. The mean proportion of the phospholipid fatty acid linoleic acid (18:2n-6) was higher in the sciatic nerves of diabetic rats than in the nondiabetic groups irrespective of dietary lipid treatment.

Double-blind, multicentre analysis of the efficacy of borage oil in patients with atopic eczema.

Although gamma-linolenic acid (GLA) has been shown to correct deficiencies in skin lipids associated with reduced delta-6-desaturase activity which should result in improvement of dysregulation of inflammation and immunity in atopic eczema, clinical studies with evening primrose oil containing 10% GLA have yielded contradictory results. We have therefore examined the effect of a higher percentage (at least 23%) GLA-containing borage oil in adults with stable atopic eczema of moderate severity in a double-blind, multicentre study. One hundred and sixty patients were randomized to take daily either 500 mg of borage oil-containing capsules or the bland lipid miglyol as a placebo over a 24-week period.

Cilazapril and dietary gamma-linolenic acid prevent the deficit in sciatic nerve conduction velocity in the streptozotocin diabetic rat.

Young adult male Hooded Wistar rats were rendered diabetic by administration of streptozotocin and maintained for 5 weeks on a diet containing either 6% olive oil as the total source of fat (OO diet), or purified gamma-linolenic acid (GLA) at a concentration of 0.5% with the remaining 5.5% provided by olive oil (GLA diet).

Is a dietary n-3 fatty acid supplement able to influence the cardiac effect of the psychological stress?

Epidemiological studies suggest that n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) are involved in the prevention of cardiovascular disease. Stress is known to increase the incidence of CVD and the present study was realised to evaluate some physiological and biochemical effects of dietary docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in male Wistar rats subjected to a psycho social stress. Rats were fed for 8 weeks a semi-purified diet containing 10% of either sunflower seed oil or the same oil supplemented with DHA.

Lipid peroxidation during n-3 fatty acid and vitamin E supplementation in humans.

The purpose of this study was to investigate in healthy humans the effect of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) intake, alone or in combination with dL-alpha-tocopherol acetate (vitamin E) supplements on lipid peroxidation. Eighty men were randomly assigned in a double-blind fashion to take daily for 6 wk either menhaden oil (6.26 g, n-3 fatty acids) or olive oil supplements with either vitamin E (900 IU) or its placebo.

[3-13C] gamma-linolenic acid: a new probe for 13C nuclear magnetic resonance studies of arachidonic acid synthesis in the suckling rat.

Our objective was to develop a suitable probe to study metabolism of polyunsaturated fatty acids by 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) in the suckling rat pup. [3-13C] gamma-Linolenic acid was chemically synthesized, and a 20 mg (Experiment 1) or 5 mg (Experiment 2) dose was injected into the stomachs of 6-10-day-old suckling rat pups that were then killed over a 192 h (8 d) time course. 13C NMR showed that 13C in gamma-linolenate peaked in liver total lipids by 12-h post-dosing and that [5-13C]-arachidonic acid peaked in both brain and liver total lipids 48-96 h post-dosing.

The cardiovascular protective role of docosahexaenoic acid.

Dietary fish oils rich in n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids can modulate a diverse range of factors contributing to cardiovascular disease. This study examined the relative roles of eicosapentaenoic acid (20:5 n-3; EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (22:6 n-3; DHA) which are the principal n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids regarded as candidates for cardioprotective actions. At low dietary intakes (0.

Determinants of plasma anti-oxidant vitamin levels in a population at high risk for stomach cancer.

Our objective was to identify the determinants of plasma levels of anti-oxidant vitamins which have been linked with decreased risk of cancer and other chronic diseases. Correlation analyses were performed between baseline plasma levels of ascorbic acid, alpha- and beta-carotenes, cryptoxanthin, lycopene and alpha- and gamma-tocopherols and baseline information on dietary and other demographic and life-style factors among 1,364 subjects 35-69 years of age, who are participants in a chemoprevention trial on pre-cancerous lesions of the stomach in Venezuela. Males had lower levels of ascorbic acid, alpha- and beta-carotene and cryptoxanthin and higher levels of alpha-tocopherol than females.

Effects of beta-carotene supplementation on lipid peroxidation in humans.

The ability of beta-carotene (BC) to reduce lipid peroxidation in humans was investigated. In this randomized double-blind controlled trial, 42 nonsmokers and 28 smokers received either 20 mg BC or placebo daily for 4 wk. Twenty-five smokers and 38 nonsmokers completed the trial.

beta-Carotene and disease prevention.

Cancer and cardiovascular disease are still the number one and two killer diseases in most developed countries. There is justified hope that beta-carotene will be proven efficacious in the prevention and/or delaying of the onset of these chronic diseases. Chronic disease prevention through better nutrition, judicious use of supplements and better lifestyles will assume added importance in the coming years as the proportion of the population over 65 years increases.

[Fish oil in thrombosis and arteriosclerosis].

In the past few years interest in the use of fish oil as a dietetic approach in the management of thromboarteriosclerotic diseases has increased. This is based on epidemiological studies which indicate that people living mainly on a fish diet have a low incidence of coronary heart disease (CHD). The beneficial effect is attributed to the high content of polyunsaturated n-3 fatty acids (PUFA), especially eicosapentaenoic acid (C20:5n-3) (EPA), in the marine diet.

Collagen type III induced ex vivo thrombogenesis in humans. Role of platelets and leukocytes in deposition of fibrin.

Exposure of type III collagen coats on plastic cover slips in parallel-plate perfusion chambers to flowing nonanticoagulated human blood resulted in deposition of platelets and fibrin. Blood was drawn directly from an antecubital vein by an occlusive roller pump over the collagen coats in chambers having flow slits of different dimensions, so that wall shear rates of 100, 650, and 2600 s-1 were obtained at 10 ml/min. Coagulation was minimally activated during the passage of blood from the vein to the chamber as shown by fibrinopeptide A levels of 3.

Growth and stability of thrombi in flowing citrated blood: assessment of platelet-surface interactions with computer-assisted morphometry.

The differential quantitation of platelet deposition in perfusion studies is a major problem. We report on methods to prepare semithin sections of platelet deposits on collagen coated on glass and plastic cover slips, to study growth and stability of thrombi in three dimensions, and the development of a computer-assisted differential quantitation of platelet-collagen interactions. The interactions were quantified as percentage of the surface covered with platelets (platelet adhesion), thrombus height, thrombus density and thrombus area per unit sectional length, respectively.

Microsomal CA2+ uptake in human platelets is stimulated by calmodulin.

Calcium accumulating vesicles were prepared from washed human platelets. Ca2+ uptake could be stimulated with calmodulin. The stimulation of Ca2+ uptake was not abolished by the adenylate cyclase inhibitor 2',5'-dideoxyadenosine, thus excluding enhanced cAMP formation as a possible cause for the calmodulin effect.

7-Bromo-1,5-dihydro-3,6-dimethylimidazo[2,1-b]quinazolin-2(3H)- one (Ro 15-2041), a potent antithrombotic agent that selectively inhibits platelet cyclic AMP-phosphodiesterase.

This study with the new analog Ro 15-2041 (7-bromo-1,5-dihydro-3,6-dimethylimidazo[2,1-b]quinazolin-2(3H)-on e) confirms and substantially extends the activity spectrum of imidazoquinazolinones as potent platelet function inhibitors. Ro 15-2041 inhibited platelet aggregation induced by all common platelet agonists in platelet-rich plasma obtained from various species including man (IC50 = 1-3 microM). The compound potentiated platelet inhibition by prostacyclin, the prostacyclin-induced increase of intraplatelet cyclic (c) AMP levels and inhibited the collagen-induced release of serotonin and beta-thromboglobulin.