Medical Uses For Cod Liver Oil
Cod Liver Oil has been used as a medicine for centuries
although its clinical use did not begin until the mid 17th century when
it was given to people suffering with bone disease and rheumatism. At
that time no-one knew why it worked.
By 1824, Chevreul had demonstrated that fats were esters of glycerol
and fatty acids of differing chain length. At the time, it was thought
that fats could be synthesized only by the plant kingdom. However, by
1850, it had been found from balance studies that animals also could
synthesize fats from carbohydrates. The caloric value of fat was
determined in the 1860s and shown to be more than double that of
carbohydrate. In 1907, it was shown that this was also true when fat
was used as a source of energy for physical work. The special value of
cod liver oil for the prevention and treatment of rickets was well
known by 1850 but was not to be explained until much later.
By the 1840s there were many accounts of the medicinal value of one
particular lipid material, cod liver oil. For example: "Whether the
disease of rickets be in its most severe form, with swollen joints and
crooked legs, or at its commencement, the cod liver oil will supersede
every other means of cure" and "A case of inflammation of the eyelids
and intolerance of light was cured within ten days with cod liver oil
as were several cases of conjunctivitis of the cornea". De Jongh (1849)
speculated about the mode of action of various cod liver oils in
relation to their fatty acid make-up.
Vitamin A supplementation is an important public health intervention
to reduce mortality from infections among children in developing
countries. In the 1980s and early 1990s, several large randomized,
double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials were conducted in
developing countries around the world, and these studies showed that
vitamin A supplementation could reduce child mortality by about
one-third (Beaton et al. 1993). Improving the vitamin A status of
children through vitamin A supplementation is one of the most
cost-effective health interventions known (World Bank 1993). High-dose
vitamin A is now recommended therapy for measles in many developing
countries and for selected circumstances in developed countries.
Although vitamin A has been undergoing investigation in clinical trials
in the last two decades, these recent trials are largely a continuation
of clinical investigation that began in the 1920s.
In the last fifteen years, a large series of controlled clinical
trials showed that vitamin A supplementation reduces morbidity and
mortality of children in developing countries. It is less well known
that vitamin A underwent two decades of intense clinical investigation
prior to World War II. In the 1920s, a theory emerged that vitamin A
could be used in "anti-infective" therapy. This idea, largely
championed by Edward Mellanby, led to a series of at least 30 trials to
determine whether vitamin A?usually supplied in the form of cod-liver
oil?could reduce the morbidity and mortality of respiratory disease,
measles, puerperal sepsis, and other infections. The early studies
generally lacked such innovations known to the modern controlled
clinical trial such as randomization, masking, sample size and power
calculations, and placebo controls. Results of the early trials were
mixed, but the pharmaceutical industry emphasized the positive results
in their advertising to the public. With the advent of the sulfa
antibiotics for treatment of infections, scientific interest in vitamin
A as "anti-infective" therapy waned. Recent controlled clinical trials
of vitamin A from the last 15 years follow a tradition of investigation
that began largely in the 1920s.
Vitamin A is a vitamin, a substance found in foods that is necessary
for human health. Vitamin A is found in liver, various dairy products
with fat, such as milk, cheese, butter and ice cream, and in fatty fish
such as herring, sardines, and tuna. It can also be found in the liver
oils of shark, cod, and halibut. Vitamin A is known to play a part in
cell differentiation, a process by which cells "mature."
Differentiation helps prevent inappropriate growth, such as the
uncontrolled cell growth that is seen in cancer. Many studies in
animals show that vitamin A and similar compounds decrease the
incidence of cancer.
Anti-atherogenic diet supplemented with "Eicolen" (30% linseed oil,
and 70% cod-liver oil, 9 grams per day) has been analyzed in 10 cases
of ischemic heart disease, and in 11 cases of ischemic heart disease
complicated by impaired glucose tolerance. The fish and vegetable PUFA
omega-3 from "Eicolen" have been found to improve clinical condition as
well as to modify erythrocyte membrane fatty acid composition.
There is growing evidence that dietary n-3 polyunsaturated fatty
acids (n-3 PUFAs), abundant in marine organisms, may reduce the
development of cardiovascular disease.
Cod Liver Oil has been used as a medicine for centuries
although its clinical use did not begin until the mid 17th century when
it was given to people suffering with bone disease and rheumatism. At
that time no-one knew why it worked.
By 1824, Chevreul had demonstrated that fats were esters of glycerol
and fatty acids of differing chain length. At the time, it was thought
that fats could be synthesized only by the plant kingdom. However, by
1850, it had been found from balance studies that animals also could
synthesize fats from carbohydrates. The caloric value of fat was
determined in the 1860s and shown to be more than double that of
carbohydrate. In 1907, it was shown that this was also true when fat
was used as a source of energy for physical work. The special value of
cod liver oil for the prevention and treatment of rickets was well
known by 1850 but was not to be explained until much later.
By the 1840s there were many accounts of the medicinal value of one
particular lipid material, cod liver oil. For example: "Whether the
disease of rickets be in its most severe form, with swollen joints and
crooked legs, or at its commencement, the cod liver oil will supersede
every other means of cure" and "A case of inflammation of the eyelids
and intolerance of light was cured within ten days with cod liver oil
as were several cases of conjunctivitis of the cornea". De Jongh (1849)
speculated about the mode of action of various cod liver oils in
relation to their fatty acid make-up.
Vitamin A supplementation is an important public health intervention
to reduce mortality from infections among children in developing
countries. In the 1980s and early 1990s, several large randomized,
double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials were conducted in
developing countries around the world, and these studies showed that
vitamin A supplementation could reduce child mortality by about
one-third (Beaton et al. 1993). Improving the vitamin A status of
children through vitamin A supplementation is one of the most
cost-effective health interventions known (World Bank 1993). High-dose
vitamin A is now recommended therapy for measles in many developing
countries and for selected circumstances in developed countries.
Although vitamin A has been undergoing investigation in clinical trials
in the last two decades, these recent trials are largely a continuation
of clinical investigation that began in the 1920s.
In the last fifteen years, a large series of controlled clinical
trials showed that vitamin A supplementation reduces morbidity and
mortality of children in developing countries. It is less well known
that vitamin A underwent two decades of intense clinical investigation
prior to World War II. In the 1920s, a theory emerged that vitamin A
could be used in "anti-infective" therapy. This idea, largely
championed by Edward Mellanby, led to a series of at least 30 trials to
determine whether vitamin A?usually supplied in the form of cod-liver
oil?could reduce the morbidity and mortality of respiratory disease,
measles, puerperal sepsis, and other infections. The early studies
generally lacked such innovations known to the modern controlled
clinical trial such as randomization, masking, sample size and power
calculations, and placebo controls. Results of the early trials were
mixed, but the pharmaceutical industry emphasized the positive results
in their advertising to the public. With the advent of the sulfa
antibiotics for treatment of infections, scientific interest in vitamin
A as "anti-infective" therapy waned. Recent controlled clinical trials
of vitamin A from the last 15 years follow a tradition of investigation
that began largely in the 1920s.
Vitamin A is a vitamin, a substance found in foods that is necessary
for human health. Vitamin A is found in liver, various dairy products
with fat, such as milk, cheese, butter and ice cream, and in fatty fish
such as herring, sardines, and tuna. It can also be found in the liver
oils of shark, cod, and halibut. Vitamin A is known to play a part in
cell differentiation, a process by which cells "mature."
Differentiation helps prevent inappropriate growth, such as the
uncontrolled cell growth that is seen in cancer. Many studies in
animals show that vitamin A and similar compounds decrease the
incidence of cancer.
Anti-atherogenic diet supplemented with "Eicolen" (30% linseed oil,
and 70% cod-liver oil, 9 grams per day) has been analyzed in 10 cases
of ischemic heart disease, and in 11 cases of ischemic heart disease
complicated by impaired glucose tolerance. The fish and vegetable PUFA
omega-3 from "Eicolen" have been found to improve clinical condition as
well as to modify erythrocyte membrane fatty acid composition.
There is growing evidence that dietary n-3 polyunsaturated fatty
acids (n-3 PUFAs), abundant in marine organisms, may reduce the
development of cardiovascular disease.
- Kenneth J. Carpenter. Early Ideas on the Nutritional
Significance of Lipids. The Journal of Nutrition Vol. 128 No. 2
February 1998, pp. 423S-426S - Beaton, G. H., Martorell, R.,
L'Abbe, K. A., Edmonston, B., McCabe, G., Ross, A. C. & Harvey, B.
(1993) Effectiveness of Vitamin A Supplementation in the Control of
Young Child Morbidity and Mortality in Developing Countries. ACC/SCN
State-of-the-Art Nutrition Policy Discussion Paper No. 13, United
Nations. - Richard D. Semba. Vitamin A as "Anti-Infective" Therapy, 1920-1940. Journal of Nutrition. 1999;129:783-791.
- Kulakova
SN, Gapparova KM, Pogozheva AV, Levachev MM. Evaluation of the effects
of fish and vegetable omega-3 PUFA complex on the erythrocyte fatty
acid composition in patients with ischemic heart disease and impaired
glucose tolerance. Vopr Pitan 1999;68 (5-6):26-9
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