Omega-3 Fatty Acids and Platelet Function

In our laboratory, we have compared the in vitro effects of DHA on platelet responses in the presence of physiological concentrations of albumin with several other fatty acids. The hypothesis was that if this fatty acid were to circulate in plasma bound to the albumin fraction at reasonable concentrations in people receiving fish oil fatty acids, it might still influence platelet flmction and thus, the thrombotic tendency. We have summarized our results in Table 4. 

Compared to other fatty acids at similar concentrations (100 pM), DHA was found be the most potent inhibitor of platelet aggregation. Its inhibitory effect on TxAj formation was less pronounced with no effect on 12-lipoxygenase activation (Wilkinson T, and Mahadev Murthy, 1998 Unpublished). Recently, Conquer and Holub (1998) have reported an increased circulation of nonesterified DHA (NE-DHA) (up to 13 pM) in subjects receiving different dosages of DHA. Enrichment of the 

Fatty Acids Aggregation TxB, Formation 12-HETE Formatkm  

0-3 Significant Inhibition (31 %) Slight inhibition Slight elevation 

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