Health
Research
A MESSAGE
From Dr. Robert Ackman World-Renowned Expert on Fish and Seal Oils
As early as 1960, a doctor in Halifax, Nova Scotia gave seal oil to his patients to improve their
blood lipids. He did not know at the time about the good health of the Arctic Eskimos who ate a diet
rich in seal meat and oil, and as it was later discovered, seldom suffered heart attacks. The
publicity of this discovery, in 1979-80, indicated that the Eskimo benefited from the three long
chain Omega-3 Fatty Acids, commonly known as EPA, DHA and DPA.
Effect of supplementation with dietary seal oil on selected cardiovascular
risk factors and hemostatic variables in healthy male subjects
The average daily consumption of seal oil by the Inuit people is approximately 8-9 g, yet there is
very little information on the effect of seal oil consumption on cardiovascular disease risk factors. In
this study, 19 healthy, normocholesterolemic subjects consumed 20 g of encapsulated seal oil
containing eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA; 20:5n-3), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; 22:6n-3), and
docosapentaenoic acid (DPA; 22:5n-3) or 20 g of vegetable oil (control) per day for 42 days.
Levels of selected cardiovascular and thrombotic risk factors as well as fatty acid profiles of serum
phospholipid and nonesterified fatty acid (NEFA) were determined. EPA levels in serum
phospholipid and NEFA increased by 4.3- and 2.7-fold, respectively, in the seal oil supplemented
group. DHA levels rose 1.5- and 2.1-fold, respectively, and DPA levels rose 0.5- and 0.7-fold,
respectively. Arachidonic acid (AA) levels dropped by 26% in both serum phospholipid and serum
NEFA.
There was a significant decrease in the ratio of n-6 to n-3 fatty acids in serum phospholipid from
7.2 to 2.1 and a significant increase in the ratio of EPA/AA in NEFA. Ingestion of seal oil raised the
coagulant inhibitor, protein C, values by 7% and decreased plasma fibrinogen by 18%. No
alterations in other hemostatic variables, including plasma activity of Factors VII, VIII, IX, and X and
antithrombin, or in the concentrations of von Willebrand Factor, total cholesterol, high-density
lipoprotein cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglyceride, glucose, Apo A-1, or
lipoprotein(a) were observed in either group. Other risk factors for cardiovascular disease,
including hematocrit, white blood cell count, plasma viscosity, systolic and diastolic blood
pressures, heart rate, and platelet aggregation after stimulation with ADP or collagen did not
change. Our results indicate that seal oil supplementation in healthy, normocholesterolemic
subjects decreased the n-6/n-3 ratio and increased EPA, DHA, and DPA and the ratio of EPA/AA
and DHA/AA in the serum phospholipid and NEFA, while exhibiting a modest beneficial effect on
fibrinogen and protein C levels.
Fish oils were used in medical research in the USA and Europe, and thousands of medical studies
have shown that the EPA and DHA of these oils have clinical benefits. In that work, the DPA was
ignored because fish oil contains very little. However, it has always been important in human milk
fatty acids, now an important research area for DHA in connection with infant brain development
and the continued good health of the mother. In ten thousand years, human society has changed
from a hunting diet, emphasizing animals and fish, to one dependent on large-scale
farming.
Our body biochemistry, based on a model perfected at least a million years ago, will take
thousands of generations to adapt to this new lifestyle based on agriculture. The so-called
"essential" fatty acids produced by farm products are of a shorter chain length than the Omega-3
fatty acids of seal oil. Our bodies do make the truly essential long-chain fatty acids from the farm
products, but slowly, and the Omega-3 type may suffer from competition from the excess of
Omega-6 type in them. It is time to go back to enriching the diet of the entire family with all three
Omega-3 fatty acids. Seal oil provides an easy solution to re-balancing our fatty acid
intake.
Clinical Trial
Effect of supplementation with dietary seal oil on selected cardiovascular risk factors and
haemostatic variables in healthy male subjects: Conquer JA, Cheryk LA, Chan E, Gentry PA,
Holub BJ.
Effect of supplementation with dietary seal oil on selected cardiovascular risk factors and
haemostatic variables in healthy male subjects: Conquer JA, Cheryk LA, Chan E, Gentry PA,
Holub BJ.
Research projects on seal oil and seal meat - results so far
Results from a research collaboration between National Institute of Nutrition and Seafood
Research (NIFES) and Haukeland University Hospital (HUH) indicate that seal oil ameliorate
musculoskeletal (joint) pain in patients with chronic inflammatory diseases like inflammatory bowel
disease (IBD). The results so far are promising, but larger controlled studies are necessary in order
to confirm these results.
Background
The research collaboration on seal oil between NIFES and HUS started in 1998. Seal oil is
extracted from the seals' blubber and contains a high proportion of the long chained
polyunsaturated omega-3 fatty acids, similar to different kinds of fish oil (approx. 20 %). Both
refined and unrefined oils from different seal species have been used. All oils used complied with
legislation with respect to content of undesirable substances. Patients at the Institute of
Gastroenterology, HUH, suffering from gastrointestinal diseases were the main target group in the
research.
The seal oil studies
A pilot study, published in 2002(Arslan et al. 2002), examined the effect of giving seal oil to 10
patients suffering from inflammatory diseases (IBD, chronic inflammatory disease, ulcerative colitis,
and Crohns disease) and joint pain. When given seal oil (10 ml, 3 times a day) for 10 days via a
(nasoduodenal) tube into the small intestine, the patients reported an amelioration of their joint
pains. However, the intestinal symptoms were only slightly improved. The treatment was repeated
for five of the patients at a later stage, and they were examined by a rheumatologist before and
after the treatment, confirming that the joint pain was reduced.
The results of Arslan's pilot study were confirmed through a controlled study published in 2004
(Bjorkkjer et al. 2004). Here, 19 IBD patients with joint pain got the same treatment with seal oil or
soy oil for 10 days through a nasoduodenal tube, and were followed up for 6 months after the
treatment by a rheumatologist. During the study period the patients receiving seal oil claimed
improvement of their joint pain compared to the patients given soy oil. The effect of the seal oil
lasted up to several months after the treatment.
Analysis of seal meat
A study of nutrients in seal blubber and seal meat was recently carried out and published in Food
Chemistry (Brunborg et al. 2005). Seal blubber contains high proportions of long chained
unsaturated omega- 3 fatty acids and mono unsaturated fatty acids. Seal meat is lean (< 2 % fat)
and is protein rich with a well balanced amino acid composition. In addition, it contains a high
concentration of minerals, especially iron. Seal meat has high levels of vitamin A, D3 and
B12.
More studies are at various stages of publication (revised version, submitted to be evaluated, or in
progress) and will be summarised here when they are published.
More information:
Arslan G., Brunborg L.A., Froyland L., Brun J.G., Valen M., and Berstad A. (2002). Effects of
duodenal seal oil administration in patients with inflammatory bowel disease. Lipids 37, 935-940.
Bjorkkjer T., Brunborg L.A., Arslan G., Lind R.A., Brun J.G., Valen M., Klemetsen B., Berstad A., and
Froyland L. (2004). Reduced joint pain after short-term duodenal administration of seal oil in
patients with inflammatory bowel disease: Comparison with soy oil. Scand. J. Gastroenterol. 11,
1088-1094.
Brunborg L.A., Julshamn K., Nordtvedt R., and Froyland L. (2005). Nutritional composition of
blubber and meat of hooded seal (Cystophora cristata) and harp seal (Phagophilus
groenlandicus) from Greenland. Food Chemistry (Article in press).
Reduced joint pain after short-term duodenal administration of seal oil in patients with
inflammatory bowel disease: comparison with soy oil.
Rheumatic joint pain is a common extra-intestinal complication of inflammatory bowel disease
(IBD). Because the high ratio of n-6 to n-3 fatty acids (FAs) of the Western diet might promote
rheumatic disorders, we sought to compare the effects of short-term duodenal administration of n
-3-rich seal oil and n-6-rich soy oil on IBD-related joint pain. METHODS: Nineteen patients with
IBD-related joint pain were included in the study; 9 had Crohn disease and 10 had ulcerative
colitis. Ten millilitres seal oil (n = 10) or soy oil (n = 9) was self-administered through a
nasoduodenal feeding tube 3 times daily for 10 days. RESULTS: Compared with soy oil treatment,
seal oil significantly reduced the duration of morning stiffness (P = 0.024), number of tender joints
(P = 0.035), intensity of pain (P = 0.025) and the doctor's scoring of rheumatic disease activity (P =
0.025) at the end of the 10-day treatment period. Analysis of the effects as area under the curve
(area between the curve and baseline, zero) for the entire period from start of treatment until 6
months' post-treatment suggested a long-lasting beneficial effect of seal oil administration on joint
pain, whereas soy oil tended (not significantly) to aggravate the condition. Consistently, the serum
ratios of n-6 to n-3 FAs (P < 0.01) and arachidonic acid to eicosapentaenoic acid (P < 0.01) were
reduced after treatment with seal oil. CONCLUSION: The results suggest distinctive, differential
prolonged effects on IBD-related joint pain of short-term duodenal administration of n-3-rich seal
oil (significant improvement) and n-6-rich soy oil (tendency to exacerbation).
Feeding laying hens seal blubber oil:
effects on egg yolk incorporation, stereospecific distribution of omega-3 fatty acids, and sensory
aspects.
Seventy-two 26-wk-old Single Comb White Leghorn laying hens were randomly assigned to 36
cages (2 per cage) in a 3-orthogonal 4 x 4 latin square, with the fourth row suppressed, to assess
the effect of feeding refined seal blubber oil (SBO, containing 22.2% omega-3 fatty acids) on the
fatty acid composition and position in the egg yolk lipids. The experiment was conducted over a
period of 9 wk. Eggs were collected and numbered, and the weights were recorded for each week
and cage.
Eggs collected at wk 5 and 9 were used for total lipid, lipid class, fatty acid, and positional
analyses. Sensory evaluation was carried out on eggs collected at wk 6 and 7. Feeding SBO at
1.25% led to an increase (P < 0.0001) in the long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids
(LCn3PUFA) and a concomitant decrease (P < 0.0001) in arachidonic acid (ARA) in the egg yolk
lipids. Yet this amount of SBO in the diet had no effect (P > 0.1) on the sensory attributes of the egg
and on production parameters such as egg weight, number of eggs laid, and feed intake (P >
0.05). When feeding SBO in amounts higher than 1.25% proportionately, a plateau effect of the
LCn3PUFA content of the eggs was observed. This appears to be because the PUFA content in
the sn-2 position of the phospholipids cannot exceed a certain amount. When this amount is
reached, the LCn3PUFA will be increasingly stored in triglycerides. The results presented here
clearly indicate how eggs can be produced with optimized composition of LCn3PUFA without
affecting (P > 0.1) the sensory properties of the eggs. The procedures elaborated herein provide
directly applicable consequences for the food industry.
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