TABLE 4.
Summary of studies of fish oil supplementation (FS) in athletes relating to cardiovascular performance, cognition and mood, and respiratory function1
| Author | Sport | Athlete status | Sex and sample size | Mood and cognition | Immune and inflammation | Cardiovascular and respiratory | Skeletal/muscle | Biomarkers | Physical performance | Dosingperiod, wk | Active treatment, mg/d | ω-3 biomarker response to FS | No effect for FS2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raastad et al. (54) | Soccer | Professional-elite | Male participants n = 28 | ↓TGs | 10 | 1600 EPA1004 DHA | ↑Plasma EPA (175%), DHA (40%) | V̇O2max, running speed at anaerobic threshold, run time to exhaustion | |||||
| Buckley et al. (55) | Aussie Rules | Professional-elite | Male participants n = 25 | ↓DBP, ↓sub-max exercise HR | ↓TGs | 5 | 360 EPA1560 DHA | ↑RBC EPA (116%) DHA (100%), total n–3 (74%) | Run time to exhaustion, V̇O2/running economy | ||||
| Hingley et al. (57) | Runners and cyclists | Well-trained, recreational | Male participants n = 26 | ↓Sub-max V̇O2 during 5-min cycling time trial | 8 | 140 EPA 560 DHA | ↑OM3I: 4.5% to 6% | Endurance performance (time-trial), Wingate, MVC | |||||
| Peoples et al. (58) | Cyclists | Competitive | Male participants n = 16 | ↓Exercise HR, ↑cycling economy (↓sub-max V̇O2) | 8 | 800 EPA2400 DHA | ↑RBC DHA (41.4%), total n–3 (24.3%) | ||||||
| Żebroswka et al. (32) | Cyclists | Competitive | Male participants n = 13 | ↑V̇O2max (+5%), FMD (%) | ↑NO at rest, postexercise, ↑glucose and FFA at rest | 3 | 1320 EPA880 DHA | Not measured | Endothelium independent vasodilatation, peak power, TGs, LDL and HDL cholesterol, total cholesterol, HR, SBP, DBP, glycerol, TAS, BM, PWV | ||||
| Fontani et al. (33) | Athletics | Recreational | Male and female participants n = 33 | ↑Vigor, attention, ↓reaction time, anger, anxiety, depression | ↓Homocysteine | 5 | 1600 EPA800 DHA | ↓AA/EPA | |||||
| Fontani et al. (59) | Karate | Competitive | Male and female participants n = 18 | ↑POMS, ↓reaction time | 3 | 4800 EPA2400 DHAPolicosanol | Not measured | ||||||
| Guzmán et al. (60) | Soccer | Professional-elite | Female participants n = 34 | ↓Complex reaction time | 4 | 3500 DHA | Not measured | ||||||
| Black et al. (51) | Rugby | Professional-elite | Male participants n = 20 | ↓Fatigue, ↑sleep quality | ↓Muscle soreness | ↑Mean CMJpeak force | 5 | 1102 EPA1102 DHAWhey PRO,CHO, Vitamin D | ↑Plasma ω-3 fatty acids (240%) | ||||
| Mickleborough et al. (34) | Endurance sports | Competitive | Male and female participants n = 20 | ↓Urinary LTE4 and ↓9α,11β-PGF2; ↓plasma LTB4, TNF-α, IL-1β | Improved lung function (FEV1) | 3 | 3200 EPA2200 DHA | ↑Neutrophil EPA (1206%), but no change DHA | |||||
| Tartibian et al. (61) | Wrestling | Recreational | Male participants n = 40 | ↑FEV1, ↑FVC, ↑VC, ↑MVV, ↑FEF25–75, ↑FIV1 | 12 | 180 EPA120 DHA | Not measured | FEV1% and FIV1% | |||||
| Gravina et al. (53) | Soccer | Competitive | Male and female participants n = 26 | ↑Anaerobicendurance | 4 | 4900 EPA1400 DHA | ↑Blood ω-3 fatty acids (100%) | Respiratory function (FEV1, FVC), MVC, 20-m sprints, vertical jump height, yo-yo level 1 test |
AA, arachidonic acid; BM, body mass; CHO, carbohydrate; CMJ, counter movement jump; DBP, diastolic blood pressure; FEF, forced expiratory flow from 25% to 75%; FEV1, forced expiratory volume in 1 s; FFA, free fatty acid; FIV1, forced inspiratory volume in 1 s; FMD, flow mediated dilation; FS, fish oil supplementation; FVC, forced vital capacity; HR, heart rate; LT, leukotriene; MVC, maximal voluntary contraction; MVV, maximal voluntary ventilation; OM3I, ω-3 index; POMS, profile of mood states; PRO, protein; PWV, pulse wave velocity; SBP, systolic blood pressure; TAS, total antioxidant status; TG, triglyceride; VC, vital capacity; V̇O2, oxygen uptake; V̇O2max, maximal oxygen uptake; 9α,11β-PGF2, prostaglandin metabolite.
All nonsignificant findings for the effects of FS.