Where Do Specialized Pro-Resolving Mediators Come from? | Blog | Metagenics

Specialized pro-resolving mediators (SPMs) are a way to help support the body’s natural ability to resolve physical stress.1 While the body can make SPMs naturally, supplementing with exogenous SPMs may help facilitate the body’s natural resolution process and completion of its response to physical challenges.2,3*
Metagenics, in collaboration with world-renowned leaders in the field of resolution physiology and other SPM experts, set the standard for defining SPM oils based on activity for use in nutraceutical formulas. But where do these SPMs come from?

From the first drop of marine oil through a specialized fractionation protocol and creation of the finished product, Metagenics follows a stringent, patent-pending process to create SPM Active®.

The SPM fractionation process:
SPM Active is developed through an advanced, patent-pending fractionation process which Metagenics exclusively brings to practitioners. SPM Active is a fraction produced from a high-quality marine oil. This fraction contains standardized levels of 17-HDHA and 18-HEPE, which can lead to the formation of resolvins, an important group of SPMs, in the body. The SPM Active fraction has also been shown to be bioactive and support the existing resolution mechanisms of the body.*

While SPMs are sourced from marine lipids, they are not the same as fish oil. In fact, work done during the development of SPM Active shows that fractions, from the same marine oil starting point, behave differently—not all are pro-resolving, and some fractions may have the opposite effect.4 This makes it essential to test and understand the bioactivity of SPM-rich oils.

Additionally, even though EPA and DHA are the precursors of SPMs, they do not have pro-resolving properties of SPMs.1 EPA and DHA require multiple downstream enzymatic conversions to form 17-HDHA and 18-HEPE, which are further converted into specialized pro-resolving mediators.

References

1. Serhan CN. FASEB J. 2017;31(4):1273-1288.
2. Barden AE et al. Am J Clin Nutr. 2015;102:1357-1364.
3. Titos E et al. J Immunol. 2016;197:3360-3370.
4. Adapted from WO/2013/170006.  Accessed September 10, 2018.

Submitted by the Metagenics Marketing Team

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