Immunomodulatory effect of fish oil and its polyunsaturated fatty acid components

Trends in purchasing functional foods and pharmaceutical products as immune boosters in Indonesia have begun to increase due to the current COVID-19 pandemic situation. One of them is fish oil, which is known as the oil with the highest polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) content compared to other oils, especially eicosapentaenoic acids (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acids (DHA) are well-known to have many health benefits. EPA and DHA also act as immunomodulators to maintain the immune system. It is shown by the presence of anti-inflammatory, vasodilating, anti-arrhythmic, and anti-aggregation effects. Journal articles and national reports published from 2011 to 2021 from several databases, such as Google Scholar, Scopus, and PubMed were collected to obtain abstract and original articles related to the immunomodulatory effects of EPA, DHA, and fish oil. This study highlights the immunomodulatory function of EPA and DHA in fish oil, and several studies of EPA and DHA in vitro, in vivo, and in human study. The potential health benefits of fish oil are explored, especially to evaluate the immunomodulatory effect of fish oil.