http://www.ehponline.org/docs/2008/10578/abstract.html
Environmental Health Perspectives Volume 116, Number 9, September 2008
Research
The Effect of Supplementation with Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids on Markers of Oxidative Stress in Elderly Exposed to PM2.5
Isabelle Romieu,1 Raquel Garcia-Esteban,2 Jordi Sunyer,2 Camilo Rios,3 Mireya Alcaraz-Zubeldia,3 Silvia Ruiz Velasco,4 and Fernando Holguin5
1Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública, Cuernavaca, Morelos, México; 2Instituto Municipal de Investigaciones Médicas and Centre de Recerca en Epidemiologia Ambiental, Barcelona, Spain; 3Instituto Nacional de Neurología, México DF, México; 4Instituto de Investigaciones en Matemáticas Aplicadas y en Sistemas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México DF, México; 5Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Abstract
Background: The mechanisms of particulate matter (PM) -induced health effects are believed to involve inflammation and oxidative stress. Increased intake of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA) appears to have anti-inflammatory effects.
Objective: As part of a trial to evaluate whether n-3 PUFA supplementation could protect against the cardiac alterations linked to PM exposure, we measured biomarkers of response to oxidative stimuli [copper/zinc (Cu/Zn) superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, lipoperoxidation (LPO) products, and reduced glutathione (GSH) ] and evaluated the impact of supplementation on plasma levels.
Methods: We recruited residents from a nursing home in Mexico City chronically exposed to PM 2.5 µm in aerodynamic diameter (PM2.5) and followed them from 26 September 2001 to 10 April 2002. We randomly assigned subjects in a double-blind fashion to receive either fish oil (n-3 PUFA) or soy oil. We measured PM2.5 levels indoors at the nursing home, and measured Cu/Zn SOD activity, LPO products, and GSH at different times during presupplementation and supplementation phases.
Results: Supplementation with either fish or soy oil was related to an increase of Cu/Zn SOD activity and an increase in GSH plasma levels, whereas exposure to indoor PM2.5 levels was related to a decrease in Cu/Zn SOD activity and GSH plasma levels.
Conclusion: Supplementation with n-3 PUFA appeared to modulate the adverse effects of PM2.5 on these biomarkers, particularly in the fish oil group. Supplementation with n-3 PUFA could modulate oxidative response to PM2.5 exposure.
Key words: biological markers, omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) , oxidative stress, PM 2.5. Environ Health Perspect 116:1237–1242 (2008) . doi:10.1289/ehp.10578 available via http://dx.doi.org/ [Online 16 May 2008]
Address correspondence to I. Romieu, Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública, Av. Universidad #655, Col. Santa Maria Ahuacatitlán, CP 62508, Cuernavaca, Morelos, México. Telephone: 52-777-101-29-35. Fax: 52-777-311-11-48. E-mail: iromieu@correo.insp.mx
Supplemental Material is available online at http://www.ehponline.org/members/2008/10578/suppl.pdf
We thank R. Nadif (INSERM U780, Villejuif, France) and P. Sly (University of Western Australia, Perth) , for their useful comments.
This work was supported by research grant 34483-M from the Mexican Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología and by the Mexican Ministry of Health. I.R. was supported in part by the U.S. National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Atlanta, GA, USA) ; the GA2LEN project (European Union contract FOODCT-2004-506378) ; and the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science (SAB2004-0192) .
The authors declare they have no competing financial interests.
Received 20 June 2007 ; accepted 13 May 2008.
Correction
In Table 2 of the manuscript originally published online, the intercept for LPO was 34.54 ; it has been corrected here.
