Protective effect of fish oil supplementation on DNA damage induced by cigarette smoking

The study examined the influence of fish oil (fo) supplementation on serum 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-ohdg) levels as indicated by dna damage markers and total antioxidant capacity (tac) among male cigarette smokers. this double-blind,placebo-controlled randomized study was conducted among healthy cigarette smokers (n=40) who were part of a larger prospective cohort study. twenty smokers were randomly selected to receive fo for 3 months (1 g/day),and another 20 smokers received a placebo for 3 months; 8-ohdg and tac levels were measured in blood samples before and after the intervention. serum 8-ohdg significantly decreased (p=0.001) and tac increased (p < 0.001) after 3 months of treatment with fo. between baseline and endline,the difference in 8-ohdg significantly correlated with the difference in tac among smokers who received fo (r=-0.540,p=0.014). the study provides evidence that fo supplementation can modify decreased antioxidants and increased oxidative dna damage in cigarette smokers. © international centre for diarrhoeal disease research,bangladesh.