Workshop on alpha-linolenic acid held by the Agency

Monday 16 December 2002

The Agency convened a group of expert scientists to review current research investigating whether n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) from plant oils (alpha-linolenic acid; ALA) were as beneficial to cardiovascular health as the n-3 PUFA from marine oils (eicosapentaenic and docosahexaenic acid).

The workshop also aimed to establish priorities for future research. Dietary intake of ALA has been associated with a beneficial effect on coronary heart disease (CHD); however, the results from studies investigating the effects of ALA supplementation on CHD risk factors have proved equivocal. The studies presented as part of this workshop suggested little, if any, benefit of ALA, relative to linoleic acid, on risk factors for cardiovascular disease; the effects observed with fish oil supplementation were not replicated by ALA supplementation. There is a need, therefore, to first prove the efficacy of ALA supplementation on cardiovascular disease, before further investigating effects on cardiovascular risk factors. The workshop considered that a beneficial effect of ALA on the secondary prevention of CHD still needed to be established, and there was no reason to look further at existing CHD risk factors in relation to ALA supplementation. The workshop also highlighted the possibility of feeding livestock ALA-rich oils to provide a means of increasing the dietary intake in humans of EPA and DHA.

Sanderson P, Finnegan YE, Williams CM, Millward DJ, Griffin B, Wootton S, Pegge N & Bemelmans W. UK Food Standards Agency alpha-linolenic acid workshop report. British Journal of Nutrition (2002), 88, 573–579