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Contaminants in fish oil

Department of Environmental Medicine
University of Southern Denmark
Winslowparken 17
DK-5000 Odense
Denmark
E-mail: pgrand{at}health.sdu.dk

Dear Sir:

The recent review in the Journal on long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid (LCPUFA) supplements in milk substitutes for infants discusses the risks of possible adverse effects, including delayed growth and decreased serum arachidonic acid concentrations (1). The authors did not discuss the possible relevance of contaminants of LCPUFA supplements, possibly because most of the controlled trials reviewed did not provide data on the purity of the supplement. However, persistent lipophilic pollutants, such as polychlorinated biphenyls, may biomagnify in marine food chains and occur as contaminants of LCPUFA products based on fish (2). Both delayed growth and decreased serum arachidonic acid concentrations have been reported as possible outcomes of developmental exposures to polychlorinated biphenyls (3, 4). These associations were robust to adjustment for possible effects of LCPUFAs, including eicosapentaenoic acid. If fish-oil contaminants are not taken into account, the true benefits of LCPUFA supplements may be underestimated. Future studies should therefore document the purity of the products used.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The author had no conflict of interest.

REFERENCES

1. Makrides M, Gibson RA, Udell T, Ried K, International LCPUFA Investigators. Supplementation of infant formula with long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids does not influence the growth of term infants. Am J Clin Nutr 2005;81:1094–101.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
2. Jacobs MN, Covaci A, Gheorghe A, Schepens P. Time trend investigation of PCBs, PBDEs, and organochlorine pesticides in selected n–3 polyunsaturated fatty acid rich dietary fish oil and vegetable oil supplements; nutritional relevance for human essential n–3 fatty acid requirements. J Agric Food Chem 2004;52:1780–8.[Medline]
3. Grandjean P, Budtz-Joergensen E, Steuerwald U, et al. Attenuated growth of breast-fed children exposed to increased concentrations of methylmercury and polychlorinated biphenyls. FASEB J 2003;17:699–701.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
4. Grandjean P, Weihe P. Arachidonic acid status during pregnancy is associated with polychlorinated biphenyl exposure. Am J Clin Nutr 2003;77:715–9.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

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