Abstract: Omega-3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFA), also called highly unsaturated fatty acids (HUFA), became of scientific interest in the 1960s and 1970s. DHA’s structure was first reported in the English literature in the 1950s in a JAOCS paper where it was extracted from pig brain. In the late 1960s-70s, Crawford and Sinclair showed that omega-3 was required to prevent behavioral abnormalities in monkeys and later that DHA was invariant in the brains of more than 30 species. At about the same time Gene Anderson and colleagues showed that DHA was required for proper retina function. EPA came to the fore based on studies by the late H.O. Bang and Jorn Dyerberg of Greenland Inuit, showing that their clotting times were long and their circulating EPA levels were high. Studies in the 1980s focused on EPA's effects on thrombosis. These led to recommendations for the consumption of EPA to reduce thrombosis and cardiovascular disease. Also, in the 1980s, DHA studies focused on brain development by Tom Clandinin, Susan Carlson, Bob Gibson, Norman Salem Jr, Bill Connor, Martha Neuringer, Bert Koletzko, Ricardo Uauy, and others led to a recognition of DHA primacy. Recommendations for EPA consumption were mostly to support heart health, while DHA was mostly for brain health. The earliest consensus recommendation for EPA/DHA intake appears to be 1989, for general adults to consume 300-400 mg/d EPA+DHA plus about 1,000 g/d for the elderly but considering the entire lifecycle. Subsequent studies provide evidence for specific recommendations for life stages (maternal and child, elderly) and health conditions (e.g., CVD, mental health). More recent data link requirements to genetic components favored by ancestry diet and mega-doses ( >10 g/d) for specific conditions. Future recommendations should start to take these considerations into account.
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