Compound

all-cis-5,8,11,14,17-icosapentaenoic acid

EPA, the all-cis-5,8,11,14,17 isomer present in fish oil; ChEBI labels it by its systematic name. THREE BOUNDARIES, because this subject is rarely given alone. (1) EPA CO-ADMINISTERED WITH DHA IS NOT AN EPA TRIAL. Fish oil and nearly every omega-3 supplement deliver both, and a pooled result cannot separate their contributions, so it belongs to neither compound alone. That is a combination exposure. WHAT MAKES IT ONE IS DHA BEING PRESENT ONLY WHERE THE EPA IS. A trial giving the SAME DHA in both arms has DHA as balanced background and its randomised contrast isolates EPA — extract it, and record the background in population. So does an EPA-only arm against placebo, and an EPA arm where DHA is the comparator. Icosapent ethyl (Vascepa) is purified EPA with no DHA and belongs here. A trial that doses DHA rather than EPA is not homeless: DHA is CHEBI:28125, so decline subject_species_mismatch and name it in dosed_subject. (2) THE ESTER FORM IS RECORDED, NOT EXCLUDED. Ethyl ester, re-esterified triglyceride and free fatty acid differ several-fold in bioavailability and the field disputes it; all three are this node, with the form written into dose_regimen as the paper words it. Splitting them would divide one literature across nodes that tie on every paper; discarding the form would hide the dispute inside the graph rather than let it be read off it. (3) THE OTHER OMEGA-3S ARE NOT THIS NODE. Alpha-linolenic acid and docosapentaenoic acid are different compounds, and a trial dosing them is a subject mismatch rather than a preparation of this one.

CHEBI:28364ChEBI

Studied for

4 endpoints, 4 findings, from 1 paper.

HOMA-IRlowersGrade A, Well established. Replicated human trial evidence, consistent direction.
Serum albuminraisesGrade A, Well established. Replicated human trial evidence, consistent direction.
C-reactive protein concentrationlowersGrade B, Likely. Human evidence, limited replication or design limits.
Erythrocyte sedimentation ratelowersGrade B, Likely. Human evidence, limited replication or design limits.

Every finding, with the quotes

Structure

Two-dimensional depiction. Bond angles are a drawing convention, not geometry.

Class: Organic compound
Formula: C20H30O2
Mass: 302.458 g/mol
Charge: 0
InChIKey: JAZBEHYOTPTENJ-JLNKQSITSA-N
SMILES: CC/C=CC/C=CC/C=CC/C=CC/C=CCCCC(=O)O
Look it up: ChEBI By InChIKey

Identity from ChEBI. Not evidence — none of it carries a grade.

What the evidence says

How to read these marks

4 findings across 4 endpoints, from 1 paper, strongest first.

Heavier lines are better evidence, and a line with a gap in the middle is an inference rather than a reported result. Two lines arriving at one endpoint are two findings of it, marked ×2. How a grade is computed.

What moved

4 findings

Decreases HOMA-IR
Well establishedGrade A, Well established. Replicated human trial evidence, consistent direction.Finding
“Insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) significantly decreased in the EPA-rich fish oil than the controls (p = 0.001).”
Quoted verbatim from Eicosapentaenoic acid decreases inflammation and improves glucose homeostasis in patients with burns: a randomized clinical trial..
Study

RCT
Participants

24
Duration

3 weeks
Dose

1.5 g/day EPA as EPA-rich fish oil capsules (500 mg EPA per capsule, three times daily with meals)
Population

Hospitalised adults aged 18-65 with non-severe burns covering less than 20% of total body surface area, able to take more than 90% of their daily calorie requirement by mouth, without diabetes, organ failure, cancer or immune disorder; both the EPA arm and the control arm also received 600 mg/day DHA.
Eicosapentaenoic acid decreases inflammation and improves glucose homeostasis in patients with burns: a randomized clinical trial.2025PMID:41254027
Increases serum albumin
Well establishedGrade A, Well established. Replicated human trial evidence, consistent direction.Finding
“Serum albumin was significantly higher in the EPA-rich fish oil group than the controls (p = 0.03), however this difference was not clinically significant.”
Quoted verbatim from Eicosapentaenoic acid decreases inflammation and improves glucose homeostasis in patients with burns: a randomized clinical trial..
Study

RCT
Participants

24
Duration

3 weeks
Dose

1.5 g/day EPA as EPA-rich fish oil capsules (500 mg EPA per capsule, three times daily with meals)
Population

Hospitalised adults aged 18-65 with non-severe burns covering less than 20% of total body surface area, able to take more than 90% of their daily calorie requirement by mouth, without diabetes, organ failure, cancer or immune disorder; both the EPA arm and the control arm also received 600 mg/day DHA.
Eicosapentaenoic acid decreases inflammation and improves glucose homeostasis in patients with burns: a randomized clinical trial.2025PMID:41254027
Decreases erythrocyte sedimentation rate
LikelyGrade B, Likely. Human evidence, limited replication or design limits.Finding
“Serum ESR and CRP levels significantly decreased in the EPA-rich fish oil (p < 0.001).”
Quoted verbatim from Eicosapentaenoic acid decreases inflammation and improves glucose homeostasis in patients with burns: a randomized clinical trial..
Study

RCT
Participants

24
Duration

3 weeks
Dose

1.5 g/day EPA as EPA-rich fish oil capsules (500 mg EPA per capsule, three times daily with meals)
Population

Hospitalised adults aged 18-65 with non-severe burns covering less than 20% of total body surface area, able to take more than 90% of their daily calorie requirement by mouth, without diabetes, organ failure, cancer or immune disorder; both the EPA arm and the control arm also received 600 mg/day DHA.
Eicosapentaenoic acid decreases inflammation and improves glucose homeostasis in patients with burns: a randomized clinical trial.2025PMID:41254027
Decreases C-reactive protein concentration
LikelyGrade B, Likely. Human evidence, limited replication or design limits.Finding
“Serum ESR and CRP levels significantly decreased in the EPA-rich fish oil (p < 0.001).”
Quoted verbatim from Eicosapentaenoic acid decreases inflammation and improves glucose homeostasis in patients with burns: a randomized clinical trial..
Study

RCT
Participants

24
Duration

3 weeks
Dose

1.5 g/day EPA as EPA-rich fish oil capsules (500 mg EPA per capsule, three times daily with meals)
Population

Hospitalised adults aged 18-65 with non-severe burns covering less than 20% of total body surface area, able to take more than 90% of their daily calorie requirement by mouth, without diabetes, organ failure, cancer or immune disorder; both the EPA arm and the control arm also received 600 mg/day DHA.
Eicosapentaenoic acid decreases inflammation and improves glucose homeostasis in patients with burns: a randomized clinical trial.2025PMID:41254027

What it touches on the way

A finding says all-cis-5,8,11,14,17-icosapentaenoic acid moved an endpoint. This is the biology in between: the proteins and reactions it runs through to get there. It is where to look for the two things a list of findings cannot answer — why a result might happen, and what else acts on the same machinery.

19 of these are proteins with a page of their own, and that is the door: a protein page says what else it carries, which is how one compound leads to the next.

Mechanistic reach

19 entities

19 entities reached, most connected first. Hub metabolites are excluded, so this is not a claim that the compound touches everything.

0 reported hop19 assembled from the scaffold

Show the remaining 7

Where it reaches

9 systems, 17 regions, 44 tissues, 44 transporter routes.

Loading the model…

Nervous

Endocrine

Respiratory

Cardiovascular

Digestive

Urinary

Reproductive

Musculoskeletal

Skin and adipose