Bioavailability of eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in salmon patties compared with capsules

This sequential treatment trial compared the bioavailability of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) from salmon patties fortified with fish oil (DHA:EPA ratio = 1.8, total DHA + EPA about 2.2 g), unfortified salmon patties (DHA:EPA ratio = 1.9, total DHA + EPA about 1.1 g), and fish off capsules (DHA:EPA I ratio = 1.6, total DHA + EPA = 500 mg) in healthy older adults. Fortified salmon patties produced a significantly higher mean incremental area under the curve (AUC(fasting-9 h)) than unfortified patties for plasma EPA (37.6 in contrast to 12.9 mug.h/mL, p = 0.017), for plasma DHA (103.7 in contrast to 40.8 mug.h/mL, p = 0.035) and for plasma EPA + DHA (141.2 in contrast to 53.7 mug.h/mL, p = 0.031). Plasma EPA and DHA responses were larger with the fortified than the unfortified patties, indicating that fish off incorporated into the salmon patties was bioavailable.