N-3 LCPUFA Analysis

.The influence of n-3 LCPUFA supplementation in patients at ultra-high risk of psychosis could also reveal that the present studies were underpowered to detect a significant group difference for DHA. The significant result for the total of omega-3 fatty acids in the unadjusted analysis supports this view and underscores the importance of n-3 LCPUFA in the prodromal phase of psychosis. {TO BE CHECKED}

1.3 RBC fatty acids as bio-markers of omega-3 status There exists a large number of tissues that may be used in measuring the intake of fatty acids in relation to assessing the sufficiency of these nutrients in the diet. These tissues include adipose tissues, organs and erythrocyte membranes (Arab, 2003, Baylin et al., 2005, Harris et al., 2004). Harris et al. (2004) determined the correlation between n-3 PUFA levels in the heart with …show more content…
The supplementation with 1 g/day of DHA+EPA in these patients increased levels of these fatty acids in the heart tissue, erythrocytes, plasma and buccal cells by 110%, 101%, 139% and 73% respectively (Harris et al., 2004). The correlation of n-3 PUFA levels between cardiac tissue and RBC concentration was high (r = 0.82; P that refers to the levels of EPA+DHA on erythrocytes (Harris et al., 2004; Harris & von Schacky, 2004). These results suggest that erythrocyte fatty acids could be a biomarker for determining n-3 LCPUFA levels in the heart and also act as a marker for cardiovascular disease (Harris & von Schacky, 2004). The results suggest that the use of buccal cells may tend to under-estimate EPA+DHA values. In addition, Analysis of these studies suggests that erythrocytes and plasma may both be good biomarkers for n-3 PUFA dietary status. However, the fatty acid content of erythrocytes reflects dietary intake for more than a month (approximate half-life of erythrocytes) while that in plasma reflects that of a few days or meals (Arab, 2003). Serum fatty acids are known to fluctuate rapidly,