Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2021 Jan 2:2021:8879227.
doi: 10.1155/2021/8879227. eCollection 2021.

Associations among Dietary Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids, the Gut Microbiota, and Intestinal Immunity

Yawei Fu  1   2 , Yadong Wang  1   2 , Hu Gao  2 , DongHua Li  1 , RuiRui Jiang  1 , Lingrui Ge  3 , Chao Tong  1 , Kang Xu  2   4
Affiliations
Review

Associations among Dietary Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids, the Gut Microbiota, and Intestinal Immunity

Yawei Fu et al. Mediators Inflamm. .

Abstract

Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (omega-3 PUFAs), which are essential fatty acids that humans should obtain from diet, have potential benefits for human health. In addition to altering the structure and function of cell membranes, omega-3 PUFAs (docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), and docosapentaenoic acid (DPA)) exert different effects on intestinal immune tolerance and gut microbiota maintenance. Firstly, we review the effect of omega-3 PUFAs on gut microbiota. And the effects of omega-3 PUFAs on intestinal immunity and inflammation were described. Furthermore, the important roles of omega-3 PUFAs in maintaining the balance between gut immunity and the gut microbiota were discussed. Additional factors, such as obesity and diseases (NAFLD, gastrointestinal malignancies or cancer, bacterial and viral infections), which are associated with variability in omega-3 PUFA metabolism, can influence omega-3 PUFAs-microbiome-immune system interactions in the intestinal tract and also play roles in regulating gut immunity. This review identifies several pathways by which the microbiota modulates the gut immune system through omega-3 PUFAs. Omega-3 supplementation can be targeted to specific pathways to prevent and alleviate intestinal diseases, which may help researchers identify innovative diagnostic methods.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declared that there are no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Synthetic pathway of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Omega-3 PUFAs reduce inflammation through three main pathways.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Factors associated with omega-3 PUFAs-microbiome-host immunity interactions.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Gentile C. L., Weir T. L. The gut microbiota at the intersection of diet and human health. Science. 2018;362(6416):776–780. doi: 10.1126/science.aau5812. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Healy-Stoffel M., Levant B. N-3 (omega-3) fatty acids: effects on brain dopamine systems and potential role in the etiology and treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders. CNS & Neurological Disorders Drug Targets. 2018;17(3):216–232. doi: 10.2174/1871527317666180412153612. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Costantini L., Molinari R., Farinon B., Merendino N. Impact of omega-3 fatty acids on the gut microbiota. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2017;18(12):p. 2645. doi: 10.3390/ijms18122645. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Swanson D., Block R., Mousa S. A. Omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA: health benefits throughout life. Advances in Nutrition. 2012;3(1):1–7. doi: 10.3945/an.111.000893. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. de Bus I., Witkamp R., Zuilhof H., Albada B., Balvers M. The role of n-3 PUFA-derived fatty acid derivatives and their oxygenated metabolites in the modulation of inflammation. Prostaglandins & Other Lipid Mediators. 2019;144:p. 106351. doi: 10.1016/j.prostaglandins.2019.106351. - DOI - PubMed

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources