Health Benefits of Oily Fish: Illustrated with Blue Shark (Prionace glauca), Shortfin Mako Shark (Isurus oxyrinchus), and Swordfish (Xiphias gladius)

CHAMORRO, FRANKLIN; OTERO, PAZ; CARPENA, MARIA; FRAGA-CORRAL, MARIA; ECHAVE, JAVIER; SEYYEDI-MANSOUR, SEPIDAR; CASSANI, LUCIA; PRIETO, MIGUEL A.

Nutrients

MDPI

Año: 2023 vol. 15

Oily fishisarichsourceofenergy,proteins,essentialaminoacids,lipids,vitamins,andminerals. Amongthemacronutrientswiththehighestcontributionarelipids,mainlylong-chain omega 3polyunsaturatedfattyacids(!-3 LC-UFA),especiallyeicosapentaenoicacid(EPA)and docosahexaenoic acid(DHA).BothEPAandDHAplayabeneficialroleinpromotinghealthandpreventingmanydiseases,includingcardiovasculardiseases,suchasstrokeandacutemyocardialinfarction.Theyalsocontributetothepreventionofneurological,metabolic,andimmune-system-relateddiseases,aswellassupportingbody-weightcontrol.Oilyfishconsumptionisalsoimportantat differentstagesofhumanlife,fromconceptiontooldage.Forexample,DHAplaysanimportantroleinbrainandretinadevelopmentduringfetaldevelopmentandinthefirsttwoyearsoflife,asitpositively influencesneurodevelopment,suchasvisualacuity,andcognitivefunctions.Incontrastwith thepossiblehealthbenefitsoftheintakeofoilyfish,thepresenceofcertainchemicalpollutants,for example,heavymetals,canbeariskforthehealthofconsumers,mainlyinsensitivepopulationgroupssuchaspregnantwomenandchildrenunder2yearsofage.Thepresenceofthesepollutantsis influencedtoagreaterextentbyfishspecies,theirroleinthetrophicchain,andtheirsize.However,various studiesstatethatthebenefitsoutweightheriskofconsumingcertainspecies.Thisreviewwillbe focusedonthehealthbenefitsoftheintakeofthreeoilyfishspecies,namelyblueshark(Prionaceglauca), shortfinmakoshark(Isurus oxyrinchus), andswordfish(Xiphias gladius).