High DHA dosage from algae oil improves postprandial hypertriglyceridemia and is safe for type-2 diabetics

Abstract

Abstract Postprandial refers to diet indu ce d changes in plasma concentrati ons of sugars , amino acids and fats between 0 and 6 h foll owing a meal . This review details the fat transp ort throu gh lipoprot ein particles and tri glyceride fractions in the postp randi al plasm a. The long-chain omega -3 fatty acid docosah exaenoi c acid (DHA ) is more active in postp randial plasma and is more abundan tly incorporat ed into the s urface phospholipid fractio n of l ip o prote ins. A survey of con trolled clinical trials in the literat ure demon strates that 1 ,000 mg to 2,000 mg DHA daily is effective to treat hypert riglyceri demia (HTG), mixed dyslipid emia and most effec tively contr ols elevat ed postp randi al triglycerides (TG) . TG is a marker for total fat in circu lation. Omega-3 fatty acids low er fasting and po stprandial TG, an acti vity first d iscovered in 1971 in Greenland ic Inuit s. Low TG and high DHA were coincident with the absence of type 2 diabet es. It is now kno wn that DHA is the maj or stru ctural and funct ional omega -3 compo nent of lipop roteins in human plasma. DHA is the omega-3 to most su bsta ntially incre ase by mass in the phospho lipid fract ion of very lowdensit y li p oprot e ins ( VLDL), l ow d ensi ty l ipoproteins (LDL) and high densi ty lipoprot eins (HDL ). DHA is most effective at rais ing HDL levels and imp roves the omega -3 index in red blood cell s (R BC). DHA intake also correlates with greater than 25 % reductions of fasting TG and greater than 40 % reductions in postp randi al TG. Postpr andial HTG is common in the type 2 diabetes; there fore, we consi dered the safety of DHA from Schiz ochytr ium sp. a lgae oil and the evidence for r is k re ductio n of coronary vascular disease (CVD) and type 2 diabet es. Rec ent clinical trials sugges t high DHA intake from Chromi sta algae contr ols plasma TG, but does n ot appear to control glucoce ntric m arkers or c h o le s t e ro l l ev e l s . DH A d i re c t ly a ffe c ts p o s tp r a n d i a l TG transp ort, but has little e ffect on insul in funct ion and insulin resistanc e. Applica tions for use in South Asian diabet ics are consi dered. 1,200 mg algae DHA daily ove r 3 months is an optimi zed progra m for direc t control of postp randi al HTG and is safe for type 2 diabet ics.