vascular and normally circulating in the blood. Their function is to modulate some chemical-endocrine responses, in a positive or negative way - depending on the type of molecule.
Eicosanoids are divided into many families (prostaglandins, thromboxanes, leukotrienes, etc.) with different impact on the organism; not for nothing, we often speak of "good eicosanoids" and "bad eicosanoids". This is, of course, a true conceptual distortion and own since there are no mediators produced by the organism that exert an anti-health effect.
Let's say, however, that the excess of what are defined as "bad" is involved in the forefront of the pro-inflammatory and pro-aggregating mechanism, therefore on the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and thrombosis. On the other hand, good eicosanoids exert the opposite effect, and are defined as protective agents on cardiovascular diseases.
Since the levels of circulating eicosanoids - measurable thanks to a test that can be performed with the gas chromatographic method - can be modulated with the nutritional dosage of essential fatty acids - or with drugs - the diet plays a primary function in the balance between the good ones and the bad ones.
Let's see how.
: to which eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) belong, considered the eicosanoids with the greatest anti-inflammatory and antiplatelet effect, therefore beneficial for the metabolism;Attention! There are many types of essential omega 6 fatty acids. It is therefore difficult to group them into a single whole, especially when talking about their health effects. Below is a list of all the omega 6 fatty acids:
- Linoleic acid (LA)
- Gamma-linolenic acid (GLA)
- Calendic acid
- Eicosadienoic acid
- Domo-gamma-linoleic acid (DGLA)
- Arachidonic acid (AA, ARA)
- Docosadienoic acid
- Adrenic acid
- Docosapentaenoic acid
- Tetracosatetraenoic acid
- Tetracosapentaenoic acid.
Effects of eicosanoids deriving from arachidonic acid
Arachidonic acid derivatives have the ability to increase:
- allergic reactions
- cell proliferation
- blood pressure
- inflammatory reactions
- l "platelet aggregation
- thrombogenesis
- vasospasm
- LDL cholesterol, decreasing HDL cholesterol.
Note: Chronic excessive production of omega-6 eicosanoids is related to arthritis, inflammation and cancer.
To learn more: Right Ratio between Omega 6 and Omega 3 between eicosanoids and hormones, in particular testosterone, insulin and growth hormone (GH) are so complicated that in medicine we are only at the beginning of a complete understanding of the total effects.
The goal of modern diets that tend to establish an overall balance in biochemical and hormonal metabolism would be to structure a food situation that promotes the production of good, usually deficient eicosanoids and suppresses that of bad, usually in excess.
Among the most anticipated objectives there is also the regulation of the hormone insulin, capable of modulating the presence of sugars in the blood, and therefore the production of omega-6 eicosanoids consequent to hyperglycemic situations.
and vitamin A) losing their functions and even playing a negative role on health - even the good ones.
A high consumption of oxidized polyunsaturated fatty acids - therefore wasted, because they are poorly stored or damaged in cooking - found in most types of vegetable oil, can increase the likelihood that postmenopausal women will develop breast cancer.
[Sonestedt, Emily; Ericson, Ulrika; Gullberg, Bo; Skog, Kerstin; Olsson, Håkan; Wirfält, Elisabet. "Do both heterocyclic amines and omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids contribute to the incidence of breast cancer in postmenopausal women of the Malmö diet and cancer cohort?". International Journal of Cancer. 123: 1637–43].
A similar effect was seen on prostate cancer, but the study was conducted in mice.
[Yong Q. Chen, at al; Min; Wu; Wu; Perry; Cline; Thomas; Thornburg; Kulik; Smith; Edwards; d "Augustine; Zhang; Wu; Kang; Chen."Modulation of prostate cancer genetic risk by omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids". The Journal of Clinical Investigation. 117: 1866–75].
Another analysis suggested the inverse association between total polyunsaturated fatty acids and breast cancer risk, but the individual polyunsaturated fatty acids behaved differently from each other. [...] a 20: 2 derivative of "linoleic acid [...] has been inversely associated with breast cancer risk".
[Pala, Valeria; Krogh, Vittorio; Muti, Paola; Chajès, Véronique; Riboli, Elio; Micheli, Andrea; Saadatian, Mitra; Sera, Sabina; Berrino, Franco. "Erythrocyte Membrane Fatty Acids and Subsequent Breast Cancer: A Prospective Italian Study". Journal of the National Cancer Institute. 93: 1088–95.]
