Research paper
A Randomized Trial of the Effects of Dietary n3-PUFAs on Skeletal Muscle Function and Acute Exercise Response in Healthy Older Adults
Study answer
What this study found
6 months of EPA+DHA ~3.9 g/day increased knee-extension strength by 7.5% vs 3.1% with placebo (p=0.039). No significant effects on mitochondrial function (respiration, ATP production, ROS) or whole-body/muscle protein metabolism. Acute exercise–related whole-body amino acid kinetics showed attenuation of post-exercise protein synthesis increases; muscle fractional synthesis rate (FSR) increased after exercise in both groups, with an attenuated increase in tissue-fluid–FSR in the n3-PUFA group. RBC EPA/DHA increased in the active group, confirming adherence. Interpretation: modest…
- Study & population
- Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.
- Intervention
- EPA+DHA ~3.9 g/day (4 x 1000 mg softgels; each softgel ~675 mg EPA and ~300 mg DHA).
- Key limitation
- Healthy, nonfrail older adults; limited generalizability to frail or inflamed populations; sample size moderate; 6 months duration; potential learning effects in strength testing; small lean-mass changes may be underestimated by DXA; mitochondrial measures in permeabilized fibers may not reflect whole-organism…
View source
Open PDFOriginal abstract
Skeletal muscle is critical for maintaining mobility, independence, and metabolic health in older adults. However, a common feature of aging is the progressive loss of skeletal muscle mass and function, which is often accompanied by mitochondrial imp…