Bioavailability of long chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids from phospholipid-rich herring roe oil in men and women with mildly elevated triacylglycerols

This randomized, single-blind, crossover trial assessed the bioavailability of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), and docosapentaenoic acid (DPA) from two different sources, each examined over a 12 h period following consumption of a single serving and after 2-weeks of daily supplementation. Thirty-two adults with fasting triacylglycerol (TAG) concentrations between 100 and 399 mg/dL were randomly assigned, with stratification by sex and age, to receive 12 capsules/day containing either phospholipid (PL)-rich herring roe oil (Romega® 30, 628 mg/day EPA; 1810 mg/day DHA; 137 mg/day DPA) or TAG-rich fish oil (575 mg/day EPA; 1843 mg/day DHA; 259 mg/day DPA) each for a 2-week period separated by a 4 week washout. The net incremental area under the curve from 0 to 12 h for EPA, DHA, and EPA+DHA in plasma phosphatidylcholine (PC) were significantly higher (p<0.01 for all) after Romega 30 supplementation compared to fish oil. Similar results were observed when the data for the Romega 30 condition were normalized to fish oil EPA and DHA intakes (p<0.001 for all). After the 2-week supplementation period, fasting plasma PC EPA+ DHA was elevated by ~2.8 to 3.0-fold relative to baseline in both conditions (p<0.0001 for each), but there was no significant difference in the change from baseline (p=0.422) between Romega 30 (baseline=62.2±3.8 µg/mL vs. end of study=172.9±11.7 µg/mL) and fish oil (baseline=62.0±3.4 µg/mL vs. end of study=185.4±11.2 µg/mL) conditions. Similar results were observed for each individual LC n-3 PUFA in plasma PC after 2 weeks of supplementation. These data demonstrate that PL-rich herring roe is a well-tolerated and bioavailable source of LC n-3 PUFA.