Background: Purified palmitoleic acid (16-1; omega-7) has shown lipid-lowering and anti-inflammatory benefits in open label, epidemiologic, and animal studies.
Objective: Our objective was to perform the first randomized controlled trial of purified palmitoleic acid supplementation in humans.
Methods: Adults with dyslipidemia and evidence of mild systemic inflammation (high-sensitivity C-reactive protein [hs-CRP] between 2 and 5 mg/L) were randomly allocated to receive either 220.5 mg of cis-palmitoleic acid (n = 30) or an identical capsule with placebo (1000 mg of medium chain triglycerides, n = 30) once per day for 30 days. Participants were asked to maintain their current diet. Serum lipids and hs-CRP were drawn at baseline and study completion.
Results: At 30 days, there were significant mean (95% confidence interval [CI]) reductions in CRP (-1.9 [-2.3 to -1.4] mg/L), triglyceride (-30.2 [-40.2 to -25.3] mg/dL), and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) (-8.9 [-12.0 to -5.8] mg/dL), and a significant increase in high-density lipoprotein (HDL) (2.4 [1.5, 3.3] mg/dL) in the intervention group compared with control. These changes equated to 44%, 15%, and 8% reductions in CRP, triglyceride, and LDL respectively, and a 5% increase in HDL compared with control.
Conclusions: Purified palmitoleic acid may be useful in the treatment of hypertriglyceridemia with the beneficial added effects of decreasing LDL and hs-CRP and raising HDL. Further study is needed to elucidate mechanisms and establish appropriate human doses.
Keywords: C-reactive protein; Cholesterol; Hyperlipidemia; Inflammation; Lipids; Omega-7; Palmitoleate; Palmitoleic acid; Supplementation.
Copyright © 2014 National Lipid Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.