• DOI:10.2460/javma.239.11.1441
• Corpus ID: 266247

Therapeutic use of fish oils in companion animals.

@article{Bauer2011TherapeuticUO,
  title={Therapeutic use of fish oils in companion animals.},
  author={John E. Bauer},
  journal={Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association},
  year={2011},
  volume={239 11},
  pages={
          1441-51
        }
}

• J. Bauer
• Published 16 November 2011
• Medicine
• Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association

Vet Med Today: Timely Topics in Nutrition 1441 D fish oil treatment in humans has been traced back to 1783 when it was described as a treatment for rheumatism in the London Medical Journal. However, additional published information did not appear until 1914, when August Krogh and his wife visited Greenland Eskimos and studied their dietary habits. Subsequently, Heinbecker also studied the metabolism of Eskimos and referred to the work of the Kroghs’, indicating that Eskimos eat almost only flesh and that all animals in the North are eaten by Eskimos but they depend mainly on those found in the sea. Danish researchers in the 1970s followed up on these early observations. In 1 study, it was indicated that the Eskimos are probably the most carnivorous people on earth, with most of them subsisting primarily by consuming meat and fish. After investigating the plasma lipid and lipoprotein concentrations in the Eskimo population, it was learned that plasma triglyceride and pre-β lipoprotein (ie, very–low-density lipoproteins) concentrations were both lower, compared with concentrations in a Danish control group. The rarity of ischemic heart disease in the Eskimo population was later described by these investigators and was believed to be related to the antiatherogenic effect of marine-based oils enriched in LC omega-3 fatty acids that were consumed. Since these early observations, numerous studies and clinical investigations have been conducted on the metabolism of omega-3 PUFAs in domestic animals and humans as well as in cell cultures. The LC omega-3 PUFAs, most notably EPA and DHA, have been found to have important health benefits, including cardioprotective effects as well as roles in neurologic development and the inflammatory response. Additional beneficial effects of omega-3 fatty acids have been observed for hypertension, renal diseases, arthritis, autoimmune disorders, gastrointestinal diseases, and cancer. Consequently, recommendations have been made for the general public to increase their dietary intake of fish rich in these compounds. Because of a shift in recent years to diets that contain increased amounts of omega-6 PUFAs in humans and domestic animals, the importance of increasing the dietary intake of omega-3 PUFAs to help balance overall PUFA effects Therapeutic use of fish oils in companion animals