Eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid in fish oil capsule supplementation in obese children decreases serum interleukin-6 and hepcidin and improves iron status

Background: Chronic low-grade inflammation in obese children causes iron restriction, resulting in hypoferremia. Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), active metabolites of long chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid have an anti-inflammatory effect. Objective: We investigated the effect EPA and DHA in fish oil capsule supplementation on inflammation and iron status in obese children. Methods: A double-blind randomized controlled trial was conducted among 70 obese children aged six to ten years old. Thirty-five obese children received a fish oil capsule containing 45 mg EPA and 225 mg DHA (the supplemented group) and the others a virgin coconut oil capsule (the control group) for eight weeks, respectively. The changes in IL-6 and Hepcidin levels and iron status before and after supplementation were analyzed using MANCOVA test (α=0.05). Results: The study indicates a significant decrease of serum IL-6 by 1.8 pg/ml (95%CI 0.5-3.1 p=0.005), Hepcidin 9.6 nmol/l (95%CI 5.1-14.0 p=0.0001), and ferritin 10.2 ng/dl (95%CI 0.9-19.6 p=0.032). In addition, after the supplementation, we found an increase in serum iron by 13.6 μg/dl (95%CI 4.1-23.2 p=0.006) and transferrin saturation by 4.6% (95%CI 1.7-7.6 p=0.002). Conclusion: Supplementation with fish oil capsule containing EPA and DHA in obese children improved the iron status through decreasing serum IL-6 and Hepcidin.