effect of collagen hydrolysate and fish oil on high-sensitivity c-reactive protein and glucose homeostasis in patients with severe burn; a randomized clinical trial

Introduction: collagen and omega-3 fatty acids (fas) are suggested to have anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, and insulin-sensitizing properties. the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of collagen hydrolysate and omega-3 fas on inflammation and insulin resistance in patients with major burns.methods: in this double-blind randomized clinical trial, 66 patients with 20-45% burns were assigned to either of the three groups of collagen (40 gr/d), collagen (40 gr/d) plus fish oil (10 ml/d), or control. high-sensitivity c-reactive protein (hs-crp), fasting blood glucose (fbg) and insulin concentrations, and homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance (homa-ir) were assessed at baseline, as well as end of weeks two and three.results: based on post-hoc analyses, hs-crp levels were significantly lower in the collagen (p=0.026) and collagen+omega-3 (p=0.044) groups compared to the control group, at week three. however, pre- to post- (week three) changes of hs-crp were significantly higher only in the collagen+omega-3 group compared to the control group (173.2 vs. 103.7 mg/l, p=0.024). after three weeks of the intervention, insulin (11.3 and 11.9 vs. 22.8 µiu/ml) and homa-ir (2.9 and 2.8 vs. 7.9) values seemed to be clinically, but not statistically, lower in both intervention groups compared to the control group. pre- to post- (week three) values of fbg decreased significantly in the collagen (p=0.002) and collagen+omega-3 (p=0.036) groups. insulin (p=0.008) and homa-ir (p=0.001) decreased significantly only in the collagen+omega-3 group at week three compared to the baseline.conclusions: supplementation with collagen hydrolysate and omega-3 fas can improve hs-crp concentration and probably insulin resistance in patients with severe burns. omega-3 fas had additional effects on modulating inflammation. larger clinical trials are needed to confirm the current findings especially in terms of glucose homeostasis.