Krill Oil Promising in IBD

[Polly]

Krill Oil May Help Curb Colitis
Findings support potential for omega-3s to curb ulcerative colitis, Crohn's, and other inflammatory bowel diseases
by Craig Weatherby


Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a type of inflammatory bowel disease in which inflammation kills cells lining the colon.

An estimated 1.5 million American men and women suffer from UC, and, iike Crohn’s disease, it can be debilitating and even lead to life-threatening complications. In severe cases, surgeons must remove the colon.

Prior human studies suggest that omega-3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA) can reduce disease activity in Crohn’s disease … see “Fish Oil May Damp the Fires of Crohn’s Disease”.

And it’s encouraging that a new study shows that krill oil curbed oxidative stress and inflammation in rats with chemically induced UC.

Can omega-3s help alleviate inflammatory bowel diseases?
Previous animal research testing omega-3 fish oil against UC has shown promise, but tests in people have produced mixed results.

The most recent review of the clinical evidence found that omega-3 fish oil may help reduce relapses among some UC and Crohn’s disease patients whose conditions are in remission (Turner D et al. 2011).

But the small number and size of the trials published to date – and the relatively minor extent of the benefits of omega-3 fish oil – kept the authors from recommending it for either kind of inflammatory bowel disease.

Krill oil reduced UC signs in rats
Encouragingly, researchers from Norway report that krill oil exerted anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects in the colons of rodents with UC.

Their findings suggest that the phospholipid-form omega-3s in krill oil might work as well or better than the forms found in fish oils.

The four-week rat study was conducted by researchers from Norway’s University of Bergen and Stavanger University Hospital (Grimstad T et al. 2011).

The scientists divided 30 male rats into three groups:
Healthy controls
Rats with colitis, fed standard chow
Rats with colitis, fed a 5 percent krill oil diet.
Before and after the trial, the researchers measured the animals’ weight and several standard measures of UC severity.

These measures included colon length (which the disease shortens), oxidative damage, and the expression of pro-inflammatory messenger chemicals (cytokines and prostaglandins).

The rats fed krill oil showed several statistically significant benefits:
Maintained normal colon lengths.
Significantly lower levels of oxidation in their colon proteins.
Higher levels of anti-inflammatory prostaglandins and cytokines.
As the authors wrote, “These findings indicate an anti-inflammatory and a protein antioxidant effect of KO [krill oil].” (Grimstad T et al. 2011)

The krill oil group also had lower levels of pro-inflammatory chemicals and lower “histological combined scores”, though these differences were not statistically significant.

Overall, the statistical significance of the results was limited by the small number of animals involved, and the study’s short duration.

Clearly, we need a large, long-term study in UC patients to determine whether the benefits of krill oil observed in rats are clinically significant for humans.

In the meantime, no prior studies in UC or Crohn’s patients have seen any downside to taking omega-3 fish oil, so that seems like a safe adjunct to standard diet and drug therapies.


Sources
Barros KV, Xavier RA, Abreu GG, Martinez CA, Ribeiro ML, Gambero A, Carvalho PO, Nascimento CM, Silveira VL. Soybean and fish oil mixture increases IL-10, protects against DNA damage and decreases colonic inflammation in rats with dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) colitis. Lipids Health Dis. 2010 Jul 8;9:68.
Bassaganya-Riera J, Hontecillas R. CLA and n-3 PUFA differentially modulate clinical activity and colonic PPAR-responsive gene expression in a pig model of experimental IBD. Clin Nutr. 2006 Jun;25(3):454-65. Epub 2006 May 15.
Camuesco D, Comalada M, Concha A, Nieto A, Sierra S, Xaus J, Zarzuelo A, Gálvez J. Intestinal anti-inflammatory activity of combined quercitrin and dietary olive oil supplemented with fish oil, rich in EPA and DHA (n-3) polyunsaturated fatty acids, in rats with DSS-induced colitis. Clin Nutr. 2006 Jun;25(3):466-76. Epub 2006 May 15.
Garud S, Peppercorn MA. Ulcerative colitis: current treatment strategies and future prospects. Therapeutic Advances in Gastroenterology. 2009;2(2):99–108.
Grimstad T, Bjørndal B, Cacabelos D, Aasprong OG, Janssen EA, Omdal R, Svardal A, Hausken T, Bohov P, Portero-Otin M, Pamplona R, Berge RK Dietary supplementation of krill oil attenuates inflammation and oxidative stress in experimental ulcerative colitis in rats. Scand J Gastroenterol. 2011 Nov 30. [Epub ahead of print]National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse (NDDIC). Ulcerative colitis. Accessed at http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/colitis/
National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI). Ulcerative colitis. Accessed at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001296/
Turner D, Shah PS, Steinhart AH, Zlotkin S, Griffiths AM. Maintenance of remission in inflammatory bowel disease using omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil): a systematic review and meta-analyses. Inflamm Bowel Dis. 2011 Jan;17(1):336-45. doi: 10.1002/ibd.21374. Review.
Varnalidis I, Ioannidis O, Karamanavi E, Ampas Z, Poutahidis T, Taitzoglou I, Paraskevas G, Botsios D Omega 3 fatty acids supplementation has an ameliorative effect in experimental ulcerative colitis despite increased colonic neutrophil infiltration. Rev Esp Enferm Dig. 2011 Oct;103(10):511-8.

Article from Vital Choices Newsletter (http://newsletter.vitalchoice.com/e_art ... 9,b5gGjQ19) December 15, 2011

Polly

[tex]

Hmmmmmmmmm. Maybe if enough of these "natural" treatments are combined, (I'm thinking about Andi's post about polyphenols in apple peels, for example), along with eliminating food-sensitivities from the diet, the total effect might be enough to eliminate the need for Entocort or other drugs for the more severe cases of MC.

Thanks for posting this.

Love,
Tex