Krill oil may reduce triglyceride levels in patients with hypertriglyceridemia, says recent study

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A recent study¹ pooled the results of two identical randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled trials: TRILOGY 1 (Study of CaPre in Lowering Very High Triglycerides), which enrolled participants at 71 US centers from January 23, 2018, to November 20, 2019, and TRILOGY 2, which enrolled participants at 93 US, Canadian, and Mexican centers from April 6, 2018, to January 9, 2020. To be eligible to participate, subjects had to have fasting triglyceride levels of 500 to 1500 mg/dL, with or without stable treatment with statins, fibrates or other agents to lower cholesterol levels.

In total, there were 520 patients randomized to receive 4 grams/day of naturally derived krill oil with eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid as both phospholipid esters (PLs) and free fatty acids (FFAs) or placebo for 26 weeks. Results showed that treatment with krill oil reduced triglycerides by 26% after 12 weeks, compared to 15.1% in the placebo group. These reductions persisted at 26 weeks to 33.5% in the krill oil group, and 20.8% in the placebo group.

“This groundbreaking study gives proof that krill oil is part of the solution to alleviate the burden cardiovascular disease has on society. This can potentially have a significant impact on improving the health condition of millions of people and reduce healthcare costs,” explains Katina Handeland, research & development director for Human Health and Nutrition, Aker BioMarine ASA, in a press release. The study was not conducted by Aker BioMarine, but used krill oil delivered by the company.

“When analyzing only those patients receiving medications for their hypertriglyceridemia at study start, the authors observed even stronger reductions in the krill oil group and less reductions in the placebo group,” added Handeland. “This is interesting as these patients may represent an even more ‘true’ hypertriglyceridemia patient population.”

Reference

1. Mozaffarian D et al. “Effectiveness of a novel omega-3 krill oil agent in patients with severe hypertriglyceridemia: a randomized clinical trial.” JAMA Network Open, vol. 5, no.1 (2022)