Hinds A ; Sanders TA ;

Br J Nutr vol. 69 (2)   pp. 423-9, Mar 1993

Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, King's College London.

The influence of increasing intakes of fish oil on spleen leucocyte phospholipid fatty acid composition and cell-mediated immunity was studied in the mouse using a popliteal lymph node assay technique. The immune response was suppressed by 160 g fish oil/kg diet, but not by lower doses. The proportion of 20:5n-3 in spleen leucocyte phospholipid increased from 0.14 in the controls to 3.8, 7.2, 8.5 and 9.4% in the animals fed on 25, 50, 100 and 160 g fish oil/kg diet; the proportion of 22:6n-3 increased from 5.1 in the controls to 12.1, 12.2, 12.8 and 12.9% respectively. It is concluded that moderate intakes of fish oil are not immunosuppressive.

5,8,11,14,17-Eicosapentaenoic Acid: administration & dosage ;  Animal ;  Comparative Study ;  Docosahexaenoic Acids: administration & dosage ;  Fish Oils: administration & dosage: chemistry: immunology ;  Immunity,Cellular: drug effects ;  Lymphocytes: chemistry: drug effects ;  Male ;  Mice ;  Mice,Inbred CBA ;  Phospholipids: analysis ;  36960 ;