ABSTRACT
Asthma is one of the most common chronic inflammatory diseases of the airways .We aimed to investigate the potential antiinflammatory role of omega -3 Polyunsaturated fatty acids [omega-3 PUFA] supplementation in children with bronchial asthma in relation to the pulmonary functions, NF-ka B and cytokines [IL -12 and IL-13]. Asthmatic children [110 subjects] were divided into two groups: group A [60] supplemented with fish oil capsules containing 300 mg docosahexaenoic acid [DHA] and 700 mg eicosapentaenoic [EPA] in a dose of one capsule per day for one month, and group B [50 subjects] received placebo capsules for one month. Plasma level of DHA, NF-ka B, IL-12, IL-13 and pulmonary functions were compared between both groups before and after supplementation. The results showed that plasma DHA was increased with decrease of NF-ka B, IL- 12, IL-13, and improvement of forced vital capacity of the lungs in the supplemented group. There was a significant difference between supplemented and placebo group. Plasma DHA level was positively correlated to pulmonary function tests and negatively correlated to NF-ka B, IL-12 and IL-13. These results suggest that omega-3 PUFA supplementation is useful for treatment of asthma due to suppression of NF-ka B with subsequent decreasing production of inflammatory cytokines and improvement of pulmonary functions