Omega-3-Rich Krill Oil Changes Expression Of Genes Associated With Fat Production

Researchers from a U.S. genomics company and a Norwegian supplier of krill oil report that a diet supplemented with omega-3-rich krill oil seems to control genes in the liver associated with cholesterol metabolism and the production of glucose and fat. Scientists fed three groups of lab mice either a normal diet with soybean oil, a normal diet plus fish oil and soybean oil, or a normal diet plus Aker Biomarine’s krill oil and soybean oil. After three months, the researchers assayed 20,118 genes, finding that 4,892 genes associated with obesity and insulin resistance were significantly changed in the krill oil group, but only 192 genes in the fish oil group. Further study is needed to determine “if the gene expression patterns observed in this study have effects on metabolic disease,” they concluded.