Comparison of seal oil to tuna oil on plasma lipid levels and blood pressure in hypertriglyceridaemic subjects

As meat is a rich source of the omega-3 fatty acid docosapentaenoic acid (DPA) and Australians consume six times more meat than fish, investigation of the potential health benefit of DPA is warranted. The aims were to compare the effects of seal oil supplementation with fish oil, on measures of plasma lipids and blood pressure in hypertriglyceridaemic subjects. Forty-eight volunteers were recruited from the Wollongong community and were randomly allocated to one of three groups either receiving 1 g/day of long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC n-3 PUFA) using one of three oils: seal oil capsules (340 mg eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), 230 mg DPA, 450 mg DHA), fish oil capsules (210 mg EPA, 30 mg DPA, 810 mg DHA) or placebo capsules (containing sunola oil) for 6 weeks. Plasma triglycerides remained unchanged in the placebo group, whilst reductions of 7 and 14% (P\0.05) were seen in the fish oil and seal oil groups respectively. Systolic blood pressure improved by 8 and 5 mmHg with seal oil and fish oil respectively (P\0.05). The mean arterial pressure was significantly lower after seal oil supplementation (P\0.005) compared with the placebo group. These results indicate that seal oil is as effective as fish oil in lowering plasma triglycerides and blood pressure.