What is it about?
DHA is a n-3 (also called omega-3) fatty acid, which we should normally get through our diet, in particular by eating fatty fish. In a previous study we showed that - in the gut - DHA can bind to serotonin (an important neurotransmitter), leading to DHS. DHS is a compound that resembles so-called endocannabinoids. In this paper we show that DHS can inhibit inflammation in a specific way.
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Why is it important?
DHS appears to be specifically formed in the gut when consuming DHA (from fatty fish). From the way DHS is able to inhibit inflammation we think that this compound plays an important role in inflammatory bowel diseases like Crohn's disease (CD) or ulcerative colitits (UC). We think that this could be part of the explanation for the beneficial effects of DHA / fish in people with CD or UC.
Perspectives
We think having discovered one of the links between n-3 fatty acids / fatty fish in the diet and intestinal diseases like UC and CD. Next studies, currently underway should demonstrate whether DHS, directly administered or formed via specific diets, can be beneficial to people with UC or CD.
Professor Renger Witkamp
Wageningen Universiteit
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Docosahexaenoyl serotonin, an endogenously formed n-3 fatty acid-serotonin conjugate has anti-inflammatory properties by attenuating IL-23–IL-17 signaling in macrophages, Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Molecular and Cell Biology of Lipids, December 2016, Elsevier,
DOI: 10.1016/j.bbalip.2016.09.012.
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