Ruan and So BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine 2012, 12:143

Full list of author information is available at the end of the articleFish oil and unsaturated fatty acids (UFAs) are widely used as supplements for prevention or treatment of in-flammation, vascular diseases, pain, and cancer; however, the health benefits and molecular targets of these com-pounds have not been clearly identified yet. by searching the molecular targets of fish oil. It is believed that the biological activity of fish oil is related to reducing the excess endogenous prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), which is synthesized through the inducible and inflammatory cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) pathway [1,2]. When cells undergo inflammatory stimulation, an en-dogenous fatty acid, arachidonic acid (AA), released from the cell membrane, is converted into an intermedi-ator, prostaglandin H2, (by COX-2) and then furthe