Effect of an acute dose of omega-3 fish oil following exercise-induced muscle damage

Purpose: The purpose of this double blind, placebo controlled study was to examine the effect of two fish oil supplements, one high in EPA (750mg EPA, 50mg DHA and one low in EPA (150mg EPA, 100mg DHA), taken acutely as a recovery strategy following EIMD. Methods: Twenty-seven physically active males (26 ± 4 yr, 1.77 ± 0.07 m, 80 ± 10 kg) completed 100 plyometric drop jumps to induce muscle damage. Perceptual (perceived soreness) and functional (isokinetic muscle strength at 600 and 1800•s-1, squat jump performance and countermovement jump performance) indices of EIMD were recorded before, and 1, 24, 48, 72, and 96h after the damaging protocol. Immediately after the damaging protocol, volunteers ingested either a placebo (Con), a low EPA fish oil (Low EPA) or a high EPA fish oil (High EPA) at a dose of 1g per 10kg body mass. Results: A significant group main effect was observed for squat jump, with the High EPA group performing better than Con and Low EPA groups (average performance decrement, 2.1%, 8.3% and 9.8%, respectively), and similar findings were observed for countermovement jump performance, (average performance decrement, 1.7%, 6.8% and 6.8%, respectively, p = 0.07). Significant Time, but no interaction main effects were observed for all functional and perceptual indices measured, although large effects sizes demonstrate a possible ameliorating effect of high dose of EPA fish supplementation (effect sizes ≥ 0.14). Conclusion: This study indicates that an acute dose of high EPA fish oil may ameliorate functional changes following EIMD.