The Effect of Cod Liver Oil and Corn Oil on Platelets and Vessel Wall in Man

Abstract

SummaryTen healthy male subjects on an ordinary diet were given daily dietary supplement of 25 ml cod liver oil (CLO) or corn oil (CO) for periods of 6 weeks in a crossover study. Significant changes were observed in the plasma total fatty acid composition. The main platelet phospholipids fractions were also significantly altered, particularly by CLO with an increase of the eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA): arachidonic acid (AA) ratio. Both supplements reduced collagen induced platelet aggregation and TXB2 production, with CLO as the most potent one. No spontaneous release of an antiaggregatory substance or 6-keto-PcF1α from vein tissues were found, and the total urinary excretion of prostaglandin metabolites (E and F series) remained unchanged.

Polyunsaturated fatty acids, hyperlipidemia, and thrombosis.

“…152 Similarly, platelet aggregation induced by low concentrations of collagen was decreased in a group of Norwegian subjects given a corn oil supplement. 140 In contrast to these studies, a group of normal American men given dietary supplements of margarine and vegetable oils failed to show differences in platelet aggregation but did show a significant reduction in platelet retention on glass bead columns. 153 Two rather large studies have used the filtragometer to measure the time taken for platelets to occlude a microfilter inserted in a closed "in vitro" system containing flowing blood.…”

“…136 ' 140 In a rat study, no appreciable production of thromboxane A 3 from platelets was observed after feeding cod liver oil. 138 Thus, it seems more likely that the reduced platelet reactivity found with fish oil feeding is a result of reduced thromboxane A 2 levels rather than an increased production of the inactive thromboxane A 3 .…”

“…When bleeding times were performed in human subjects ingesting a diet rich in co-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids and compared to a control dietary period, no significant differences were found in our own studies (unpublished observations) or in those of others (table 5). 140 ' 149 ' 15° Despite this lack of prolongation in the bleeding times, some tests of platelet aggregation have been affected by dietary linoleic acid.…”

“…With one exception, 140 bleeding times have invariably been prolonged by 30% to 40% in humans ingesting fish oils for several weeks or longer although a clinical bleeding tendency has not been observed. 7492 ' 137 ' 139 Brox, et al 140 failed to show a lengthening of the bleeding time, but this may have been due to the lesser quantity (25 ml/day) of fish oil that was administered.…”

Blood lipids, fatty acids, diet and lifestyle parameters in adolescents from a region in northern Norway with a high mortality from coronary heart disease

“…Total fatty acids in serum was quantified after extraction by a modified Folch method (chloroform= methanol=KCl aq., 8:4:3) and methylation (BF3 in methanol) as described earlier (Brox et al, 1981;Christie, 1982). The fatty acids were analysed by capillary gas -liquid chromatography (Hewlett Packard 5880, SP 2380 capillary column, Palo Alto, CA, USA), at an injection temperature of 250 C, column temperature of 180 -225 C and hydrogen flame ionization detector temperature of 270 C. The signal was analysed by a disc integrator and compared with those of assays on mixtures of fatty acids supplied by Nu-Check Prep, (Elysian, MN, USA).…”