When bodybuilders take 3 grams of krill oil every day, they build four times more muscle mass than bodybuilders who do not use supplements. American private researchers come to this conclusion in a human study... which has been sponsored by a producer of krill oil. Study The researchers had 18 male students, who had been working out for 3 years on average, follow an identical training schedule for 8 weeks. They gave half of the students 3 grams of krill oil every day, the other half received a placebo. The researchers used a product from Avocare. Each amount of 3 grams of krill oil contained 1.3 grams of phospholipids, of which 963 milligrams consisted of omega-3 fatty acids (240 milligrams of DHA, 393 milligrams of EPA). Every 3 grams of krill oil also contained 0.54 milligram astaxanthin. Avocare co-sponsored the research. Results The subjects who took krill oil built up 1.4 kg of lean body mass, the subjects in the placebo group 0.3 kg. The krill oil users lost a bit more body fat than the placebo users, you see above. But that difference was not statistically significant. The krill oil users also gained a bit more muscle power than the placebo users. But that difference was not statistically significant. In the first figure below you see the increase of the 1RM on the leg press. Below that, you see the increase in the 1RM in bench presses. Mechanism When the researchers exposed muscle cells in test tubes to phosphatidylcholine from krill oil for 20 minutes, the activity of the anabolic signal molecule mTOR increased. Phosphatidylcholine from soy had no effect. Conclusion "Krill oil activates mTOR signaling", the researchers summarized. "Krill oil supplementation in athletes is safe, and while no significant effects on [...] strength were observed, its effects on body composition in combination with resistance exercise deserves further research." Avoca, the company that helped finance this research, has applied for a patent on the application of krill oil as an anabolic supplement. [PCT/US2016/048079] Source: J Nutr Metab. 2018 Apr 26;2018:7625981.
The thing about supplement research is that they can't protect their findings/brand and others can come into the market with the same thing, thus usually not much time and money are spent on it. Some observations: 1. 3g of krill oil is a lot. And it is quite expensive. The usual daily dosage is 1g. I wonder what the result would have been with fish oil? Probably similar. 2. In the study they used students, aka young people. Most of us are middle aged here, so the result would be much less, I assume. 3. Krill oil is good for dry eyes, cholesterol lowering, pain, so generally good for us, even if it doesn't cause muscle growth... 4. The astaxanthin present was minimal, the usual dosage is 8-12 mg. Personal experience: I used once MegaRed instead of fish oil but didn't notice any effect. I usually take asta during the summer, beside other things, it prevents sunburn. Really. Fish oil replacement of the krill oil: LOVAZA contains at least 900 mg of the ethyl esters of omega-3 fatty acids sourced from fish oils. x (EPA - approximately 465 mg) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA - approximately 375 mg). If one can get Lovaza (or the generic) as a prescription from his doctor (like I do) then 1 Lovaza pill equals the 3g of krill oil in the study. So it is the more effective (less pills, cheaper) version. " Each amount of 3 grams of krill oil contained 1.3 grams of phospholipids, of which 963 milligrams consisted of omega-3 fatty acids (240 milligrams of DHA, 393 milligrams of EPA)."
If the krill's the thing, then the study would have been more useful if, in addition to the control group to account for placebo, there was also a fish oil group for comparative purposes.
I have never seen research that shows a gain in LBM with supraphysiologic omega3. I have seen endo-disruption with too much fish oil.