Dietary Ahiflower Oil Increases Circulating Omega‐3 PUFA in a Dose‐Dependant Manner and LPS‐Stimulated Whole Blood Interleukin‐10 in Healthy Subjects
Authors: Lefort Natalie , LeBlanc Rémi , Surette Marc 
Published: November 2023

Ahiflower oil is a dietary oil rich in stearidonic acid (20% SDA, 18:4 n‐3) extracted from Buglossoides arvensis seeds. The present randomized, double blind, placebo‐controlled Clinical Trial investigated the effect of three dietary Ahiflower oil dosages on omega‐3 PUFA content of plasma and mononuclear cells (MC). The impact of the highest dose on stimulated cytokine production in blood was also measured. Healthy men (n=39) and women (n=49) supplemented their diets for 28 days with 9.7 ml of oil per day containing 100% high oleic sunflower oil (HOSO) (n=24); 30% Ahiflower + 70% HOSO (30% group, n=20); 60% Ahiflower + 40% HOSO (60% group, n=20); and 100% Ahiflower (100% group, n=24). Safety parameters measured at baseline and after 28 days were blood and urine chemistries, blood lipid profiles, hepatic and renal function tests and hematology. No clinically‐significant safety‐related values were measured in all groups. Fasting plasma and mononuclear cells (MC) were collected from all subjects at baseline and after 28 days of supplementation, and fatty acid methyl esters were prepared and measured by gas chromatography. Whole blood of subjects in the 100% Ahiflower and 100% HOSO groups was stimulated with LPS (10 ng/mL) for 24 hrs using TruCulture® tubes at baseline and after 28 days of supplementation. A bead‐based immunoassay quantified IL‐1β, IFN‐α, IFN‐γ, TNF‐α, MCP‐1 (CCL2), IL‐6, IL‐8 (CXCL8), IL‐10, IL‐12p70, IL‐17A, IL‐18, IL‐23, and IL‐33 in resulting supernatants. Linear mixed models probed for differences in time and time × treatment interaction using gender, age and weight as covariates. Amongst significant tissue fatty acid changes, EPA (20:5 n‐3) as % of total fatty acids increased from baseline at day 28 in all Ahiflower groups in plasma (30%, 60%, 100% groups, respectively: 0.60 vs 0.97, 0.63 vs 1.32 and 0.67 vs 1.64, all p<0.05) and MC (0.29 vs 0.39, 0.29 vs 0.55, 0.30 vs 0.70, all p<0.05). In both plasma and MC, the increase in EPA in the 100% Ahiflower group was significantly higher compared to the 30% group, but no treatment effect was discernable between the 60% and 100% Ahiflower groups. The increase in plasma and MC EPA content was significantly greater in all Ahiflower groups compared to the HOSO control (time × treatment interactions, p<0.05). Similar results were obtained for ALA (18:3 n‐3), ETA (20:4n‐3) and DPA (22:5 n‐3) content, but not DHA (22:6 n‐3). Production of IL‐10, an anti‐inflammatory cytokine, was significantly promoted by the consumption of 100% Ahiflower oil (124 vs 188 pg/ml/109 monocytes for baseline and 28 day values, respectively) compared to HOSO (132 vs 143). In conclusion, dosage of dietary Ahiflower oil is reflected in the enrichment of EPA and other omega‐3 PUFA in plasma and MC. The highest Ahiflower dosage studied (9.73 mL/day) favors IL‐10‐producing monocyte/macrophage polarization or IL‐10 synthesis. Overall, this indicates that the consumption of Ahiflower oil is associated with an anti‐inflammatory phenotype in healthy subjects.

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Funded by: New Brunswick Innovation Research Chair in Biosciences, Atlantic Innovation Fund, Nature's Crops International