Technique boosts omega 3 fatty acid levels in brain

Getting enough of the omega 3 fatty acids DHA and EPA into the brain to study their effects on conditions such as Alzheimer's and depression which they have been shown to help is no easy task. While supplements containing these fatty acids exist, there is scant evidence showing that these supplements actually increase DHA or EPA in the brain. To measurably increase levels of EPA in the brain, a person would have to consume a small glass of it each day, quite possibly with the side effect of smelling like fish. Now researchers from the University of Illinois at Chicago report that adding a lysophospholipid form of EPA (LPC-EPA) to the diet can increase levels of EPA in the brain 100-fold in mice. The amount of LPC-EPA in the diet required for this increase is rather small for mice—less than a milligram per day. The human equivalent would amount to less than a quarter of a gram per day. They report their results in the Journal of Lipid Research. The omega 3 fatty acids DHA and EPA are known to have anti-inflammatory effects and protect against various neurological and metabolic diseases. DHA has been shown to be good for memory and cognitive deficits associated with Alzheimer's disease, and in pre-clinical studies, EPA has been shown to be effective in treating and preventing depression.