Research

Hormonal

Omega-3 PUFAs reduce intestinal inflammation and immune response by inhibiting pro-inflammatory signaling pathways (NF-κB, MAPK) and promoting anti-inflammatory mediators (IL-10, SCFAs like butyrate).

If you suffer from inflammation or gut issues, omega-3s (EPA/DHA) can help by directly reducing inflammatory signaling in the gut. This is achieved by blocking pro-inflammatory pathways and boosting anti-inflammatory factors. This benefit is most pronounced when using direct sources of EPA/DHA rather than just plant-based ALA.

ModerateSupportsMEDIUM confidence
Omega-3 PUFAs inhibit all NF-κB pathways induced by LPS. Incubation of macrophages with omega-3 PUFAs reduces MAPK kinase activity induced by LPS and decreases the expression of pro-inflammatory mediators, such as TNF-α [36].
Yawei Fu et al. · Mediators of Inflammation · 2021

Why this rating

Review article citing multiple mechanistic studies in animal and cell models.

Source

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

Yawei Fu et al. · Mediators of Inflammation · 2021

DOI 10.1155/2021/8879227

narrative_reviewCited 317×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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