Assessing the environment for regulatory change for eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid nutrition labeling

  1. Amy M Brownawell1,*,
  2. William S Harris2,
  3. Joseph R Hibbeln3,
  4. David M Klurfeld4,
  5. Ian Newton5,
  6. Allison Yates4

Article first published online: 26 JUN 2009

DOI: 10.1111/j.1753-4887.2009.00212.x

Issue

Nutrition Reviews

Nutrition Reviews

Volume 67, Issue 7, pages 391–397, July 2009

Additional Information

How to Cite

Brownawell, A. M., Harris, W. S., Hibbeln, J. R., Klurfeld, D. M., Newton, I. and Yates, A. (2009), Assessing the environment for regulatory change for eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid nutrition labeling. Nutrition Reviews, 67: 391–397. doi: 10.1111/j.1753-4887.2009.00212.x

Author Information

  1. 1

    Life Sciences Research Office, Bethesda, Maryland, USA

  2. 2

    University of South Dakota School of Medicine, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, USA

  3. 3

    National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Bethesda, Maryland, USA

  4. 4

    USDA Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville, Maryland, USA

  5. 5

    Ceres Consulting, Markham, Ontario, Canada

*AM Brownawell, Life Sciences Research Office, 9650 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20814-3998, USA. E-mail: brownawella@lsro.org, Phone: +1-301-634-7030, Fax: +1-301-634-7876.

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 26 JUN 2009
  2. Article first published online: 26 JUN 2009

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Keywords:

  • cardiovascular disease (CVD);
  • dietary reference intake (DRI);
  • docosahexaenoic acid (DHA);
  • eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA);
  • mood-stabilizing effects

This review examines issues related to the development of a recommended daily allowance or adequate intake, two of the categories of dietary reference intakes, for the long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (omega-3 PUFAs), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, 20:5 n-3), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6 n-3). Although some have suggested a dietary intake of two servings of fatty fish per week or supplement intake of 500 mg/day EPA plus DHA, based on evidence from epidemiologic and clinical studies of cardiovascular benefit from regular fish or fish-oil consumption, supplementation with EPA and/or DHA may also have antidepressant and mood-stabilizing effects. Omega-3 PUFA biology is complex and chronic disease outcomes are sometimes difficult to prove, yet the possibility of benefit for a substantial portion of the population from increased omega-3 PUFA intake is a public health issue that must be addressed responsibly and be based on significant scientific evidence.

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