The effect of krill oil supplementation focusing on the incorporation of plasma omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, clinical biomarkers and lipidomic profiles in women

• Main Author: Sung, Hyunsin
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: 2017
• Subjects: 0908 Food Sciences; 1111 Nutrition and Dietetics; College of Health and Biomedicine; Long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids; LC n-3 PUFA; eicosapentaenoic acid; EPA; docosahexaenoic acid; DHA; docosapentaenoic acids; DPA; lipidomics; fish oil; Antarctic; Barros; Antarc*; Antarctic Krill; Euphausia superba
• Online Access: https://vuir.vu.edu.au/36975/; https://vuir.vu.edu.au/36975/6/SUNG%20Hyunsin-thesis_Redacted.pdf

Circulating lipids play an important role in human physiology and pathophysiology. Lipids, as the major components in various cellular membranes, are involved in homeostatic regulation, particularly in relation to immune function and inflammatory mechanisms. With the growing global prevalence of lifestyle-related diseases, including obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disorders and cancers, dietary lipids have received a great attention. Long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC n-3 PUFA) have been associated with a broad range of health benefits. The three main LC n-3 PUFA are eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, 20:5n-3), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6n-3) and docosapentaenoic acids (DPA, 22:5n-3). Fish oil and krill oil are currently the most available sources of EPA and DHA as over-the-counter supplements, although other marine sources such as algae oil are also rich in EPA and DHA. Krill oil, derived from Antarctic krill (Euphausia Superba), is rich in EPA and DHA found in phospholipids (predominantly phosphatidylcholine) rather than triacylglycerol (TAG), in which EPA and DHA in fish oil are found. Krill oil also contains astaxanthin, a carotenoid contributing to its red colour which may also have beneficial health effects (Barros et al. 2014a, Pashkow et al. 2008). Despite a number of studies examining the effects of krill oil compared with fish oil on the incorporation of LC n-3 PUFA into different tissues, the outcomes have been conflicting, which might be associated with the different study designs using different chemical forms of fish oil and/or different doses of LC n-3 PUFA, and focusing at different target tissues. The research presented in this thesis consists of nine chapters covering a literature review (Chapter two) and two intervention studies in humans (Chapters four, five, six and seven) which have examined the effect of krill oil compared with fish oil on the incorporation of LC n-3 PUFA into plasma lipid fractions. There were a postprandial and a longer-term (30 days) intervention studies, ...