Trial reportLipids in health and disease2011
Incorporation of EPA and DHA into plasma phospholipids in response to different omega-3 fatty acid formulations--a comparative bioavailability study of fish oil vs. krill oil.
Trial report in Lipids in health and disease, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT01908374 (A Randomized, Controlled, Crossover Study to Evaluate the Acute and Subchronic Bioavailability of Eicosapentaenoic Acid), which is not on this map. Cited by 101 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
A Randomized, Controlled, Crossover Study to Evaluate the Acute and Subchronic Bioavailability of Eicosapentaenoic Acid (EPA) and Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA) From Two Dietary Supplements in Men and Women With Mildly Elevated Triglycerides
Who cites it
101 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 282 citations in OpenAlex.
- Association Between Omega-3 Fatty Acid Intake and Dyslipidemia: A Continuous Dose-Response Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.Journal of the American Heart Association · 2023Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Krill oil increases plasma omega-3 fatty acids more than fish oil in healthy adults: a double-blind randomized controlled trial.The American journal of clinical nutrition · 2026Trial
- Efficacy of phospholipid-bound omega-3 versus standard omega-3 in patients with hypertriglyceridemia: a randomized clinical trial.BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2026Trial
- Bioavailability of Orally Administered Active Lipid Compounds from four Different Greenshell™ Mussel Formats.Marine drugs · 2020Trial
- Postprandial incorporation of EPA and DHA from transgenic Camelina sativa oil into blood lipids is equivalent to that from fish oil in healthy humans.The British journal of nutrition · 2019Trial
- A novel self-micro-emulsifying delivery system (SMEDS) formulation significantly improves the fasting absorption of EPA and DHA from a single dose of an omega-3 ethyl ester concentrate.Lipids in health and disease · 2017Trial
- Dietary supplementation with n-3-fatty acids in patients with pancreatic cancer and cachexia: marine phospholipids versus fish oil - a randomized controlled double-blind trial.Lipids in health and disease · 2017Trial
- Trial
- Supplementation of krill oil with high phospholipid content increases sum of EPA and DHA in erythrocytes compared with low phospholipid krill oil.Lipids in health and disease · 2015Trial
- Similar eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid plasma levels achieved with fish oil or krill oil in a randomized double-blind four-week bioavailability study.Lipids in health and disease · 2015Trial
- Bioavailability of fatty acids from krill oil, krill meal and fish oil in healthy subjects--a randomized, single-dose, cross-over trial.Lipids in health and disease · 2015Trial
- Trial
- A randomized clinical trial to determine the efficacy of manufacturers' recommended doses of omega-3 fatty acids from different sources in facilitating cardiovascular disease risk reduction.Lipids in health and disease · 2014Trial
- Enhanced increase of omega-3 index in healthy individuals with response to 4-week n-3 fatty acid supplementation from krill oil versus fish oil.Lipids in health and disease · 2013Trial
- Precision dietary strategies for enriching animal-derived foods with antioxidants and omega-3 fatty acids.Veterinary and animal science · 2026Review
- Krill Oil in Human Nutrition and Healthy Aging: A Narrative Review of Implications for Intrinsic Capacity and Nutrient Bioavailability.Nutrients · 2026Review
- Effects of Add-On Icosapent Ethyl With Standard Treatment on Functional Outcomes and Inflammatory Biomarkers in Acute Ischemic Stroke: A Blinded Randomized Controlled Trial.Annals of clinical and translational neurology · 2026Article
- Marine Lipids and Alzheimer's Disease: Biochemistry, Bioaccessibility/Bioavailability, Metabolism, and Health Effects.Marine drugs · 2026Review
- Efficacy of omega-3 fatty acids as a functional food: a multifaceted approach to health reinforcement.Journal of the science of food and agriculture · 2026Review
41 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundBioavailability of omega-3 fatty acids (FA) depends on their chemical form. Superior bioavailability has been suggested for phospholipid (PL) bound omega-3 FA in krill oil, but identical doses of different chemical forms have not been compared.
methodsIn a double-blinded crossover trial, we compared the uptake of three EPA+DHA formulations derived from fish oil (re-esterified triacylglycerides [rTAG], ethyl-esters [EE]) and krill oil (mainly PL). Changes of the FA compositions in plasma PL were used as a proxy for bioavailability. Twelve healthy young men (mean age 31 y) were randomized to 1680 mg EPA+DHA given either as rTAG, EE or krill oil. FA levels in plasma PL were analyzed pre-dose and 2, 4, 6, 8, 24, 48, and 72 h after capsule ingestion. Additionally, the proportion of free EPA and DHA in the applied supplements was analyzed.
resultsThe highest incorporation of EPA+DHA into plasma PL was provoked by krill oil (mean AUC0-72 h: 80.03 ± 34.71%*h), followed by fish oil rTAG (mean AUC0-72 h: 59.78 ± 36.75%*h) and EE (mean AUC0-72 h: 47.53 ± 38.42%*h). Due to high standard deviation values, there were no significant differences for DHA and the sum of EPA+DHA levels between the three treatments. However, a trend (p = 0.057) was observed for the differences in EPA bioavailability. Statistical pair-wise group comparison's revealed a trend (p = 0.086) between rTAG and krill oil. FA analysis of the supplements showed that the krill oil sample contained 22% of the total EPA amount as free EPA and 21% of the total DHA amount as free DHA, while the two fish oil samples did not contain any free FA.
conclusionFurther studies with a larger sample size carried out over a longer period are needed to substantiate our findings and to determine differences in EPA+DHA bioavailability between three common chemical forms of LC n-3 FA (rTAG, EE and krill oil). The unexpected high content of free EPA and DHA in krill oil, which might have a significant influence on the availability of EPA+DHA from krill oil, should be investigated in more depth and taken into consideration in future trials.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.