Highlights
- •The importance of omega-3 fatty acids was overlooked for more than 40 years after the discovery of essential fatty acids.
- •The breakthrough came in the 1970 s when Dyerberg and Bang reported that the very low incidence of coronary artery disease in the Greenland Eskimos was due to the high marine lipid content of their diet and linked the protection to the anti-thrombotic effect of EPA.
ABSTRACT
Shortly after the discovery that linoleic acid was an essential fatty acid in 1930,
α-linolenic acid also was reported to prevent the fatty acid deficiency syndrome in
animals. However, several prominent laboratories could not confirm the findings with
α-linolenic acid, and as a result there was a loss of interest in omega-3 fatty acids
in lipid research. Even the findings that a prostaglandin can be synthesized from
eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is necessary for optimum
retinal function generated only limited interest in omega-3 fatty acids. The breakthrough
came in the 1970s when Dyerberg and Bang reported that the low incidence of atherosclerotic
coronary disease in Greenland Eskimos was due to the high marine lipid content of
their diet. They subsequently found that EPA, which was increased in Eskimo plasma,
inhibited platelet aggregation, and they concluded that the low incidence of coronary
artery disease was due to the anti-thrombotic effect of EPA. This stimulated widespread
interest and research in EPA and DHA, leading to the present view that, like their
omega-6 counterparts, omega-3 fatty acids have important physiological functions and
are essential fatty acids.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: December 03, 2018
Accepted:
November 29,
2018
Received in revised form:
November 28,
2018
Received:
October 26,
2018
Identification
Copyright
© 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
