LUBBOCK, Texas--Intake of omega-3 fatty polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs) slows loss of bone mineral density (BMD) associated with aging, according to a clinical trial published in the British Journal of Nutrition (95, 3:462-68, 2006).
Researchers from Texas Tech University, Purdue University and Winthrop-University Hospital killed seven rats at the beginning of the clinical trial to determine baseline BMD and administerered the following fat blends to remaining rats (three groups of n=7seven) for 20 weeks: 167 g safflower oil, rich in omega-6 (n-6) fatty acids, + 33 g fish oil from Atlantic menhaden (control n-6 + n-3 diet); 200 g safflower oil (n-6 diet, almost devoid of n-3 PUFAs); and 190 g fish oil + 10?g corn oil (n-3 diet, rich in n-3 PUFAs). At the end of the treatment period, all test groups had a lower BMD than at baseline. However, rats fed the n-3 diet had less bone loss (as measured by BMD) compared with animals fed the n-6 and control n-6 + n-3 diets. In addition, rats fed the n-3 diet had higher values for serum insulin-like growth factor-I, parathyroid hormone, 1,25-(OH)2 vitamin D3 and bone-specific alkaline phosphatase activity than the control n-6 + n-3 diet group, but lower bone nitrogen oxide (NO) production and urinary calcium than the n-6 diet group, which had higher bone prostaglandin E2 production and serum pyridinoline. The researchers concluded these findings indicate a protective action of n-3 PUFAs on aging-induced bone loss in gonad-intact middle-aged male rats through a modulation of local factors and systemic calcitrophic hormones.
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