A combination of fish oil and aspirin could be the key to beating a host of devastating chronic diseases including arthritis, a new breakthrough study has found.

Researchers found that the two work together to combat the inflammation responsible for a host of illnesses, including heart disease, cancer and arthritis.
Experts have always touted the health benefits of low-dose aspirin and omega-3 fatty acids found in foods like flax seeds and salmon, but the detailed mechanisms involved in their effects were not fully known.

Now a new study published in the Cell Press journal Chemistry and Biology shows that aspirin helps trigger the production of molecules called resolvins that are naturally made by the body from omega-3 fatty acids.

These resolvins shut off, or "resolve," the inflammation that underlies destructive conditions such as inflammatory lung disease, heart disease, and arthritis.

"In this report, we found that one resolvin, termed resolvin D3 from the omega-3 fatty acid DHA, persists longer at sites of inflammation than either resolvin D1 or resolvin D2 in the natural resolution of inflammation in mice," said senior study author Dr Charles Serhan of Brigham and Women`s Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

"This finding suggests that this late resolution phase resolvin D3 might display unique properties in fighting uncontrolled inflammation," Serhan said in a statement.

The researchers also confirmed that aspirin treatment triggered the production of a longer acting form of resolvin D3 through a different pathway.

"Aspirin is able to modify an inflammatory enzyme to stop forming molecules that propagate inflammation and instead produce molecules from omega-3 fatty acids, like resolvin D3, that help inflammation to end," said co-author Dr Nicos Petasis of the University of Southern California.

"We were able to produce by chemical synthesis both resolvin D3 and aspirin-triggered resolvin D3 in pure form, which allowed us to establish their complete structures and biological activities," said Petasis.

When administered to human cells, both of these resolvins demonstrated potent anti-inflammatory actions. When given to mice, the compounds also stimulated the resolution of inflammation in the body.

"We also identified the human receptor that is activated by resolvin D3, which is critical in understanding how resolvin D3 works in the body to resolve inflammation," said Serhan.