Highlights
- •This large study describes the changes in fatty acids and oxylipins during pregnancy and the effect of omega-3 supplementation on those changes.
- •Free DHA and DHA-derived oxylipins mostly decline during pregnancy and omega-3 LCPUFA supplementation generally arrested the declines.
- •There was a differential response to omega-3 LCPUFA treatment in the 5-lipoxygenase products of DHA depending on the baseline omega-3 status of women.
- •5-lipoxygenase products of DHA may have an important role to play in modulating pregnancy duration.
ABSTRACT
Introduction
Omega-3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFA) have been associated with
a reduction in risk for preterm birth. However, there is limited understanding of
how fatty acids and their bioactive derivatives (oxylipins) change over the course
of pregnancy. Here we document the changes in concentration of fatty acids and oxylipins
during pregnancy and how fatty acid status and oxylipin concentrations are affected
by supplementation with omega-3 LCPUFA. We also investigate the degree to which fatty
acid and oxylipin changes across pregnancy are influenced by baseline omega-3 status.
Materials and Methods
We profiled the fatty acids in all lipids in dried blood spots (total blood fatty
acids) by gas chromatography and free (unesterified) fatty acids and their associated
oxylipins in separate dried blood spot samples by LC-MS-MS collected from a random
sample of 1263 women with a singleton pregnancy who participated in the ORIP (Omega-3
fats to Reduce the Incidence of Prematurity) trial. ORIP is a double-blind, randomized
controlled trial involving 5544 participants and designed to determine the effect
of supplementing the diets of pregnant women with omega-3 LCPUFA on the incidence
of early preterm birth. Maternal whole blood finger prick samples were collected at
baseline (~14 weeks gestation) and at completion of the study intervention period
(34 weeks gestation).
Results
The concentration of most total and free polyunsaturated fatty acids and their associated
oxylipins declined over the course of pregnancy. Omega-3 LCPUFA supplementation increased
total DHA and 7-HDHA and mitigated the decline in free DHA, 4-HDHA and 14-HDHA. The
intervention had minimal or no effect on free EPA, LA, AA and their associated oxylipins.
Omega-3 LCPUFA supplementation in women with higher omega-3 status at baseline was
associated with a significant increase in 7-HDHA and 4-HDHA between the treatment
and control whereas there were no differences between groups in 7-HDHA and 4-HDHA
in women with intermediate or lower baseline omega-3 status.
Conclusion
Our data suggest a differential response with or without omega-3 supplementation for
DHA and DHA-derived oxylipins, which may have an important role to play in modulating
pregnancy duration. Further work is needed to understand their role, which may allow
us to better tailor omega-3 supplementation for preterm birth prevention.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: September 28, 2020
Accepted:
September 22,
2020
Received in revised form:
September 22,
2020
Received:
June 21,
2020
Identification
Copyright
© 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
