Krill Oil Lessens Heart Attacks in Rat Study

Krill oil ingredients supplier Aker BioMarine (Oslo, Norway) has announced the results of a new study on rats, which found that those supplementing with the company’s Superba krill oil showed better signs of heart recovery following induced heart attacks.

A total of 53 rats were assigned to one of three treatment groups: control, krill oil 14 days after heart attack, or krill oil before and 14 days after heart attack. Compared with the control group, animals treated with krill oil before heart attack showed less dilation of the heart’s left ventricle and healthier heart and lung weights. Pretreatment with krill oil was also associated with reduced expressions of certain genes, including those relating to inflammation and ventricular stress.

“Since the beneficial effects of krill oil were dependent on initiation of treatment before induction of [heart attack], our data indicate that krill oil may have a favorable influence on the initial remodeling process after [heart attack],” said the authors of the study.

One unanswered question from the study is whether or not less dilation with krill oil could have been linked to smaller heart attacks; however, no data was available to measure heart attacks.

Funded in part by Aker BioMarine, the study has been published in the journal Lipids in Health and Disease