Research

Hormonal

EPA supplementation (1-3 g/day) improves symptoms in various psychiatric disorders including depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia, whereas DHA alone shows no effect on depression in tested trials.

If you are managing a psychiatric condition, discuss EPA supplementation (1-3g/day) with your doctor. The evidence suggests EPA is effective for mood disorders, whereas DHA alone has not shown similar benefits for depression. Note that very high doses of EPA (>=4g/day) may be less effective than moderate doses.

GoodQualifiesHIGH confidence
EPA at the dose of 1 or 2 g·day–1 has shown efficacy in reducing symptoms of treated depressive patients... In contrast, DHA showed no effect on depression in the two studies where it was tested as the only treatment
Jean‐Marc Alessandri et al. · annales de biologie animale biochimie biophysique · 2004

Why this rating

Based on a review of multiple randomized controlled trials summarized in the paper.

Source

Polyunsaturated fatty acids in the central nervous system: evolution of concepts and nutritional implications throughout life

Jean‐Marc Alessandri et al. · annales de biologie animale biochimie biophysique · 2004

DOI 10.1051/rnd:2004063

narrative_reviewCited 275×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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