Taking a daily omega-3 supplement for a year lowers levels of a specific lipid molecule called 15-HETE by about 19% in adults aged 50–65, even though this molecule is typically involved in resolving...
Mechanism
Synthesis from 1 study
Taking omega-3 supplements pushes out another fat called arachidonic acid from the enzymes that make lipid signals. This means fewer inflammatory signals, including 15-HETE, get made — not because the body is 'fixing' something, but because the enzymes are just using the omega-3s instead.
Most probable mechanism
When people take omega-3 supplements, these fats get into cell membranes and compete with another fat called arachidonic acid. Because the enzymes that make lipid molecules prefer omega-3s, they start using them instead of arachidonic acid. This means fewer inflammatory molecules from arachidonic acid are made, and more anti-inflammatory molecules from omega-3s are produced instead. This shift explains why some inflammatory markers go down, even if a molecule like 15-HETE — which is actually inflammatory — also drops, because the whole system is being redirected.
Dietary EPA and DHA from supplementation are absorbed and incorporated into phospholipid membranes of immune and endothelial cells
Increased membrane concentrations of EPA and DHA compete with arachidonic acid for access to lipoxygenase and cyclooxygenase enzymes
Lipoxygenase enzymes preferentially metabolize EPA and DHA over arachidonic acid, reducing the production of arachidonic acid-derived eicosanoids including 15-HETE
Reduced availability of arachidonic acid as a substrate leads to decreased synthesis of 15-HETE, a pro-inflammatory metabolite derived from arachidonic acid via 15-lipoxygenase
Evidence from Studies
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