21 days of mammalian omega-3 fatty acid supplementation improves aspects of neuromuscular function and performance in male athletes compared to olive oil placebo

Evan J. H. Lewis, Peter W. Radonic, Thomas M. S. Wolever, Greg D. Wells

Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (N-3) are essential nutrients for human health and integral components of neural tissues. There is evidence that N-3 supplementation may benefit exercise performance, however, no study has investigated the ergogenic potential of N-3 supplementation. Our objective was to determine the effect of short-term N-3 supplementation on neuromuscular-function and physical-performance in well-trained athletes. Male athletes (n = 30), 25 years (SD 4.6), training 17 h(.)wk(-1) (SD 5) completed this randomized, placebo-controlled, parallel-design study. At baseline a blood sample was collected, maximal voluntary isometric contractions (MVC) with electromyography (EMG) recordings were measured, and participants underwent various performance tests including a Wingate test and 250 kJ time trial (TT) followed by repeated MVC and EMG measurement. Participants were then randomly assigned to receive N-3 (5 ml seal oil, 375 mg EPA, 230 mg DPA, 510 mg DHA) or placebo (5 ml olive oil) for 21-days after which baseline testing was repeated. The magnitude-based inference approach was used to estimate the probability that N-3 had a beneficial effect on neuromuscular-function and performance of at least ±1 %. Data are shown as mean ± 90 % confidence-interval. Plasma EPA was higher on N-3 than placebo (p = 0.004) but the increases in DPA and DHA were not significant (p = 0.087, p = 0.058). N-3 supplementation had an unclear effect on MVC force (4.1 ± 6.6 %) but increased vastus lateralis EMG by 20 ± 18 % vs placebo (very likely beneficial). N-3 supplementation reduced Wingate percent power drop by 4.76 ± 3.4 % vs placebo (very likely beneficial), but the difference in TT performance was unclear (-1.9 ± 4.8 %). Our data indicates N-3 PUFA supplementation improved peripheral neuromuscular function and aspects of fatigue with an unclear effect on central neuromuscular function. Clinical trial registration NCT0201433.