Posted by dessbee on December 18, 2006, at 6:55:21
In reply to Re: epa/dha » dessbee, posted by tealady on December 17, 2006, at 16:21:30
EPA and AA (arachidonic acid) share the the same enzyme, delta-5-desaturase. Since EPA has stronger binding to this enzyme it will block formation of AA when EPA is in excess.
AA is used for producing inflammatory eicosanoids. EPA is used for producing anti-inflammatory eicosanoids. So the ratio between EPA and AA affects the body's inflammatory state.
It is interesting that ETA (eicosatetraenoic acid, precursor of EPA) is considered an even stronger anti-inflammotory agent (200 times), probably due to its stronger binding to the delta-5-desaturase. Problem is that it is not that common in food, only found in green lipped mussles.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essential_fatty_acid_interactions
poster:dessbee
thread:714317
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20061218/msgs/714737.html