TY - JOUR
T1 - Improved muscle recovery after omega-3 supplementation is associated with increased oxylipin availability
AU - Miranda-Fuentes, Claudia
AU - Rehbein, Carlos O.
AU - Campos, Cristian
AU - Toporowicz, Yael
AU - Arredondo, Joseline
AU - Gutierrez, Sebastián
AU - Nuñez, Oscar
AU - Uribe-Cerda, Sofia
AU - Castillo, Barbara
AU - Diaz-León, Matías
AU - Quintero-Soto, Delia
AU - Del Canto-Cruz, Antonia
AU - Winter, Tanja
AU - Farías, Camila
AU - Krause, Bernardo J.
AU - Valenzuela, Rodrigo
AU - Aukema, Harold M.
AU - Valladares-Ide, Denisse
AU - Peñailillo, Luis
AU - Jannas-Vela, Sebastián
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2026.
PY - 2026/3/13
Y1 - 2026/3/13
N2 - UNLABELLED: Eccentric exercise-induced muscle damage (EIMD) impairs muscle function and recovery. While omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (n-3 PUFA) supplementation has shown promise in mitigating EIMD, the role of their oxidation products (oxylipins) remains unclear. This study investigated the effects of 8-week n-3 PUFA supplementation on muscle recovery and its relationship with blood oxylipin profiles after EIMD in healthy men. Eighteen participants were randomly assigned into two groups: OMEGA (
n = 9 28.0 ± 2.5 y; 2.5 g/d of DHA and 0.5 g/d of EPA) and PLACEBO (
n = 9 21.4 ± 0.6 y; maltodextrin). Participants performed one bout of 100 unilateral isokinetic eccentric maximal voluntary contractions of the knee extensor muscles before and after an 8-week supplementation period. N-3 PUFA supplementation augmented plasma EPA- and DHA-derived oxylipins (
p < 0.05) in the OMEGA group, which showed an attenuation of peak muscle maximum voluntary contraction loss (-15.4 ± 5.2%;
p = 0.05) post-exercise compared to the PLACEBO group (1.3 ± 6.0%). There were no differences in muscles soreness between groups. Multivariate analyses identified body fat percentage and specific n-3 and n-6 PUFA-derived oxylipins as predictors of MVC loss after EIMD. In conclusion, the increased plasma levels of n-3 PUFA derived oxylipins following supplementation suggest a possible role for these lipid mediators in promoting muscle recovery.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1038/s41598-026-44339-1.
AB - UNLABELLED: Eccentric exercise-induced muscle damage (EIMD) impairs muscle function and recovery. While omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (n-3 PUFA) supplementation has shown promise in mitigating EIMD, the role of their oxidation products (oxylipins) remains unclear. This study investigated the effects of 8-week n-3 PUFA supplementation on muscle recovery and its relationship with blood oxylipin profiles after EIMD in healthy men. Eighteen participants were randomly assigned into two groups: OMEGA (
n = 9 28.0 ± 2.5 y; 2.5 g/d of DHA and 0.5 g/d of EPA) and PLACEBO (
n = 9 21.4 ± 0.6 y; maltodextrin). Participants performed one bout of 100 unilateral isokinetic eccentric maximal voluntary contractions of the knee extensor muscles before and after an 8-week supplementation period. N-3 PUFA supplementation augmented plasma EPA- and DHA-derived oxylipins (
p < 0.05) in the OMEGA group, which showed an attenuation of peak muscle maximum voluntary contraction loss (-15.4 ± 5.2%;
p = 0.05) post-exercise compared to the PLACEBO group (1.3 ± 6.0%). There were no differences in muscles soreness between groups. Multivariate analyses identified body fat percentage and specific n-3 and n-6 PUFA-derived oxylipins as predictors of MVC loss after EIMD. In conclusion, the increased plasma levels of n-3 PUFA derived oxylipins following supplementation suggest a possible role for these lipid mediators in promoting muscle recovery.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1038/s41598-026-44339-1.
KW - Exercise-induced muscle damage
KW - Muscle recovery
KW - Oxylipins
KW - Specialized pro-resolving mediators
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105036642084
U2 - 10.1038/s41598-026-44339-1
DO - 10.1038/s41598-026-44339-1
M3 - Article
C2 - 41826682
AN - SCOPUS:105036642084
SN - 2045-2322
VL - 16
JO - Scientific Reports
JF - Scientific Reports
IS - 1
M1 - 13469
ER -