Pine nuts and pinolenic acid for inflammation and metabolism
What it found
Pinolenic acid from pine nuts lowered inflammatory signals in cells, animals and small human samples, and improved lipid and glucose measures in animals.
Most of the evidence comes from lab and animal work, with few human studies.
What they found
Studies in people
Human immune cells
In blood cells from rheumatoid arthritis patients and healthy people, pinolenic acid lowered IL-6 and TNF-alpha release by about 35% to 60%, and reduced PGE2.
Appetite in women
In a small trial in postmenopausal obese women, 3 g of Korean pine nut free fatty acids raised satiety hormones and reduced food intake by 36% compared to control.
Animal and lab studies
Inflammatory signals in cells
In lab tests on mouse and human cells, pinolenic acid reduced inflammatory mediators like nitric oxide, IL-6, TNF-alpha and PGE2 by amounts ranging from 10% to 87%.
Inflammation in animals
In mice and rats, pinolenic acid reduced swelling, fever and inflammatory cytokines, and increased pain tolerance in one test.
Lipids and weight in animals
In rats and mice, pine nut oil lowered blood triglycerides, cholesterol and liver fat, and reduced weight gain and white fat mass.
Gene activity in human cells
In human liver cells and immune cells, pinolenic acid changed the activity of genes involved in fat production, cholesterol and inflammation.
What the authors conclude
“Studies indicate that PNLA has potential benefits as a dietary supplement or complementary therapy for chronic inflammatory and immune diseases as well as metabolic disorders.”
Also in their conclusions
- They say pinolenic acid may be capable of reducing the production of many pro-inflammatory cytokines and oxidative mediators.
- They advise that more research and clinical trials are needed to confirm pinolenic acid's anti-inflammatory effects before it can be included in medical treatment.
- They note that high-quality human trials are necessary to establish optimal doses and long-term effects.
How it was done
Current treatments for inflammatory conditions like atherosclerosis, diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis have side effects and do not fully suppress inflammation. The authors wanted to evaluate whether pine nut oil and its main fatty acid, pinolenic acid, could help.
They reviewed studies on pine nut oil and pinolenic acid, including lab experiments on cells, animal studies, and some human samples from healthy volunteers and rheumatoid arthritis patients.
What it can’t tell you
- Most of the studies were done in cells or animals, so they cannot show what happens in people.
- The human studies were small and short, so the long-term effects are not known.
- Pine nuts contain other compounds besides pinolenic acid, so some effects may not be due to pinolenic acid alone.
Who paid
- Conflicts
- The authors declare no conflict of interest.
- Authors work at
- Cardiff University, UK; University Hospital of Wales, UK
The paper
- Title
- The Beneficial Effects of Pine Nuts and Its Major Fatty Acid, Pinolenic Acid, on Inflammation and Metabolic Perturbations in Inflammatory Disorders
- Type
- ReviewThe authors read earlier studies and describe what they found. It isn’t a new study.
- Evidence
- Studies in people · animals · lab
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Licence
- CC BY. Words in quotation marks are the authors’; the rest is our summary.
- Cite
- Takala R, Ramji DP, Choy E (2023). The Beneficial Effects of Pine Nuts and Its Major Fatty Acid, Pinolenic Acid, on Inflammation and Metabolic Perturbations in Inflammatory Disorders. International journal of molecular sciences. doi:10.3390/ijms24021171Free full textPubMed 36674687DOI
Summary written 30 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error