?Study of the biochemical and behavioral effects of omega-3 fatty acids on normotensive and hypertensive rats?

LONGARZO LUCRECIA; MAITE ZAVALA; FRANCO DOLCETTI; ROMINA F. VAZQUEZ; LAURA FANANI; M. JOSE BELLINI; MARIA CELESTE VILLA-ABRILLE; MATÉ, SABINA

Congreso; SCHCF + ALACF 2020 joint meeting; 2020

The dietary intake of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) of the omega-3 series?eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)?reduces the risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and produces beneficial effects in patients with neurodegenerative diseases. The incorporation of omega-3 PUFAs into biological membranes changes membrane properties, and thereby affect signal transduction and cell function. The objective of this study was to analyze the effect of early supplementing in diet with EPA and DHA over depression symptoms and cardiac function in spontaneous hypertensive rats (SHR) compared with Wistar (W). Twenty one-day-old male Wistar and SHR rats (N=25) were randomly separated into four groups: Wistar, control and treated (W; W-T), and SHR, control and treated (SHR; SHR-T). The systolic pressure (SP) was measured and the Marble anxiety test was performed the day before the sacrifice. Blood, cardiomyocytes, and hippocampus were isolated and the total free fatty acids (FFA) composition was analyzed. Lower omega-6/omega-3 indexes were detected in the plasma of both W-T and SHR-T animals. Strikingly, the DHA percentage and DHA/Arachidonic Acid ratio were significantly higher in SHR than in W cardiomyocytes. No significant effect on the SP of SHR-T animals was detected. Similar levels of omega-3 PUFAs were found in the hippocampus of both W and SHR animals. Notwithstanding, a significant reduction in cardiac hypertrophy parameters and an increase in the digging activity of SHR-T animals were registered.These preliminary results show that omega-3 PUFAs intake could contribute to the prevention of the chronic inflammation associated with CVD and neurodegenerative diseases. However, the omega-3 PUFAs enrichment of biological membranes may not be the underlying mechanism responsible for these omega-3 FAs´ beneficial effects.