Table 1.
Effects of n-3 PUFA supplementation on exercise performance.
| Reference (y) | Population (n) | n-3 PUFA dose (g/d) | Exercise | Supplementation duration | Effects of omega 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rodacki et al. (2012) | Healthy women, 64 ± 1.4 y (n = 45) | 2 | 90 days strength training | 90 and 150 days | Peak torque ↑ Rate of torque development ↑ |
| McGlory et al. (2016) | Healthy men, 20.5 ± 0 y (n = 20) | 4.5 | Acute bout of resistance exercise | 8 weeks | MPS → |
| Jouris et al. (2011) | Healthy, 35 ± 10 y (n = 11) | 3 | Acute bout of eccentric biceps curls (120% 1RM) | 7 days | DOMS ↓ |
| Lembke et al. (2014) | Healthy, 18.6 ± 1.2 y (n-3 PUFA: n = 43) and 18.9 ± 1.1 y (placebo: n = 22) | 2.7 | Acute bout of maximum eccentric forearm extensions | 30 days | DOMS ↓ Blood lactate ↓ C-reactive protein ↓ |
| Corder et al. (2016) | Healthy women, 33 ± 2 y (n = 27) | 3 | Maximum eccentric biceps curl exercises | 9 days | DOMS ↓ Skin temperature → C-reactive protein → |
| Tsuchiya et al. (2016) | Healthy men, 19.5 ± 0.8 y (n = 24) | 0.86 | Maximum eccentric elbow flexion exercises | 8 weeks | DOMS ↓ Strength and range of motion ↑ IL-6 ↓ |
| Tinsley et al. (2016) | Healthy women, 22.5 ± 1.8 y (n-3 PUFA: n = 8) and 24.7 ± 3.6 y (placebo: n = 9) | 6 | 10 sets to failure of elbow flexion and leg extension machines |
1 week | DOMS ↓ |
| Mickleborough et al. (2015) | Untrained healthy, 22.0 ± 2 y (n = 32) | 1.2 | Downhill running (− 16% grade) | 26 days | Blood markers of muscle damage/inflammation ↓ DOMS ↓ Strength and range of motion ↑ |
| Lenn et al. (2002) | Healthy, 22.7 ± 3.9 y men (n = 13) and 24.5 ± 5.4 y women (n = 9) | 1.8 | Maximum isokinetic eccentric elbow flexion | 30 days | Muscle strength → DOMS → Blood markers of muscle damage/inflammation → |
| Gray et al. (2014) | Healthy, 23 ± 2.3 y (n = 20) | 3 | Maximum eccentric knee extensor muscles contractions | 6 weeks | Muscle strength → DOMS → Blood markers of muscle damage → TBARS and cellular DNA damage ↓ |
| Bortolotti et al. (2007) | Healthy men, 24 ± 1 y (n = 8) | 7.2 | 30 min cycling exercise (50% VO2max) | 14 days | Energy metabolism → VO2max → |
| Peoples et al. (2008) | Well-trained men, 27.1 ± 2.7 y (placebo: n = 7) and 23.2 ± 1.2 y (n-3 PUFA: n = 9) | 8 | Sustained submaximal exercise tests (55% of peak workload) | 8 weeks | Submaximal and peak HR and oxygen consumption during exercise ↓ VO2peak , time to exhaustion and peak workload → |
| Ninio et al. (2008) | Overweight, 25–65 y (n = 65) | 6 | Aerobic exercise (45 min, 3 times a week, at 75% HRmax) | 12 weeks | Resting and submaximal HR during exercise ↓ HRV (high-frequency)↑ |
| Buckley et al. (2009) | Footballers, 21.7 ± 1.0 y (n-3 PUFA) and 23.2 ± 1.1 y (placebo) (n = 25) | 6 | 2 treadmill runs to exhaustion | 5 weeks | Diastolic BP and submaximal HR during exercise ↓ VO2peak , time to exhausition and recovery time → |
| Rontoyanni et al. (2012) | Healthy men, 18–45 y (n = 22) | 4.7 | 12 min multi-stage exercise stress (25 W increase) | Single dose | Systemic vascular resistance ↓ Cardiac output during exercise → |
| Kawabata et al. (2014) | Healthy, 23 ± 1 y (n = 20) | 3.6 | Submaximal exercise test (30 min at 2-mM of BLa, followed by 30 min at 3-mM) | 8 weeks | Oxygen consumption and RPE ↓ |
| Macartney et al. (2014) | Healthy, 18–40 y (n = 26) | 2 | 5 min maximum work capacity trial | 8 weeks | Resting and submaximal HR and HR recovery ↓ HR peak → |
| Gray et al. (2012) | Healthy, 24 ± 3.8 y (n = 16) | 2 | 1 h cycling (70% VO2peak) | 6 weeks | HR and O2 consumption, at rest and during submaximal exercise → |
| Da Boit et al. (2015) | Healthy, 25.8 ± 5.3 y (n = 37) | 2 | Cycling time trial to fixed energy expenditure | 6 weeks | Time trial completion time, HR and O2 consumption, at rest and during submaximal exercise → |
| Oostenbrug et al. (1997) | Trained cyclists, 19–42 y (n = 24) | 6 | Cycling time trial of 1 h | 3 weeks | VO2max, maximal power and time to exhaustion → |
| Żebrowska et al. (2015) | Cyclists, 23.1 ± 5.4 y (n = 13) | 1.3 | VO2max cycling test | 3 weeks | VO2max and endothelial function ↑ |