Skip to main content
PMC home page
Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases logoLink to Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases
. 1989 Feb;48(2):124–127. doi: 10.1136/ard.48.2.124

Evening primrose oil in rheumatoid arthritis: changes in serum lipids and fatty acids.

J Jäntti 1, T Nikkari 1, T Solakivi 1, H Vapaatalo 1, H Isomäki 1
PMCID: PMC1003697  PMID: 2649022

Abstract

The serum concentration of lipids and composition of fatty acids after overnight fasting were studied in 18 patients with rheumatoid arthritis treated for 12 weeks with either 20 ml of evening primrose oil containing 9% of gamma-linolenic acid or olive oil. The serum concentrations of oleic acid, eicosapentaenoic acid, and apolipoprotein B decreased and those of linoleic acid, gamma-linolenic acid, dihomo-gamma-linolenic acid, and arachidonic acid increased during treatment with evening primrose oil. During olive oil treatment the serum concentration of eicosapentaenoic acid decreased and those of high density lipoprotein-cholesterol and apolipoprotein A-I increased slightly. The decrease in serum eicosapentaenoic acid and the increase in arachidonic acid concentrations induced by evening primrose oil may not be favourable effects in patients with rheumatoid arthritis in the light of the roles of these fatty acids as precursors of eicosanoids.

Full text

PDF
124

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Belch J. J., Ansell D., Madhok R., O'Dowd A., Sturrock R. D. Effects of altering dietary essential fatty acids on requirements for non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a double blind placebo controlled study. Ann Rheum Dis. 1988 Feb;47(2):96–104. doi: 10.1136/ard.47.2.96. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Darlington L. G. Do diets rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids affect disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis? Ann Rheum Dis. 1988 Feb;47(2):169–172. doi: 10.1136/ard.47.2.169. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Grundy S. M. Monounsaturated fatty acids, plasma cholesterol, and coronary heart disease. Am J Clin Nutr. 1987 May;45(5 Suppl):1168–1175. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/45.5.1168. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Hansen T. M., Lerche A., Kassis V., Lorenzen I., Søndergaard J. Treatment of rheumatoid arthritis with prostaglandin E1 precursors cis-linoleic acid and gamma-linolenic acid. Scand J Rheumatol. 1983;12(2):85–88. doi: 10.3109/03009748309102890. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Kremer J. M., Jubiz W., Michalek A., Rynes R. I., Bartholomew L. E., Bigaouette J., Timchalk M., Beeler D., Lininger L. Fish-oil fatty acid supplementation in active rheumatoid arthritis. A double-blinded, controlled, crossover study. Ann Intern Med. 1987 Apr;106(4):497–503. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-106-4-497. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Kunkel S. L., Ogawa H., Ward P. A., Zurier R. B. Suppression of chronic inflammation by evening primrose oil. Prog Lipid Res. 1981;20:885–888. doi: 10.1016/0163-7827(81)90165-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Leaf A., Weber P. C. Cardiovascular effects of n-3 fatty acids. N Engl J Med. 1988 Mar 3;318(9):549–557. doi: 10.1056/NEJM198803033180905. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Lee T. H., Hoover R. L., Williams J. D., Sperling R. I., Ravalese J., 3rd, Spur B. W., Robinson D. R., Corey E. J., Lewis R. A., Austen K. F. Effect of dietary enrichment with eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acids on in vitro neutrophil and monocyte leukotriene generation and neutrophil function. N Engl J Med. 1985 May 9;312(19):1217–1224. doi: 10.1056/NEJM198505093121903. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Nikkari T. Serum fatty acids and coronary heart disease in Finnish populations. Prog Lipid Res. 1986;25(1-4):437–450. doi: 10.1016/0163-7827(86)90089-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Oxholm P., Manthorpe R., Prause J. U., Horrobin D. Patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome treated for two months with evening primrose oil. Scand J Rheumatol. 1986;15(2):103–108. doi: 10.3109/03009748609102073. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Svenson K. L., Lithell H., Hällgren R., Selinus I., Vessby B. Serum lipoprotein in active rheumatoid arthritis and other chronic inflammatory arthritides. I. Relativity to inflammatory activity. Arch Intern Med. 1987 Nov;147(11):1912–1916. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Wright S., Burton J. L. Oral evening-primrose-seed oil improves atopic eczema. Lancet. 1982 Nov 20;2(8308):1120–1122. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(82)92784-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES