In order to evaluate the effect of omega-3 fish oil supplement by gavage (0.4 mL/100 g body weight) on the chronic lead-induced (0.2% lead acetate) impairments of long-term potentiation (LTP) in rat dentate gyrus (DG) in vivo, we designed the experiments which were carried out in four groups of newborn Wistar rats (the control, the lead-exposed, the control with fish oil treatment and the lead-exposed with fish oil treatment, respectively). The excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP) and population spike (PS) amplitude were measured in the DG of rats with above different treatments at the age of 80-90 d in response to stimulation applied to the lateral perforant path. The results showed (1) postnatal chronic lead-exposure impaired LTP measured on both EPSP slope and PS amplitude in DG area of the hippocampus; (2) in the control rats, omega-3 fish oil had no effect on LTP while in the lead-exposed rats, omega-3 fish oil had a protective effect on LTP. These results suggest that omega-3 fish oil supplement could protect rats from the lead-induced impairment of LTP. Omega-3 fish oil might be a preventive substance in reducing LTP deficits induced by lead.
Animals ; Animals, Newborn ; Dentate Gyrus ; drug effects ; Excitatory Postsynaptic Potentials ; Fatty Acids, Omega-3 ; pharmacology ; Fish Oils ; chemistry ; Lead Poisoning ; physiopathology ; Long-Term Potentiation ; drug effects ; Perforant Pathway ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar

Microorganisms provide both beneficial and harmful effects to human beings. Beneficial effects come from the symbiotic relationship that exists between humans and microbiota, but then several human illnesses have turned some friendly microbes into opportunistic pathogens, causing several microbial-related diseases. Various efforts have been made to create and utilize antimicrobial agents in the treatment and prevention of these infections, but such efforts have been hampered by the emergence of antimicrobial resistance. Despite extensive studies on drug discovery to alleviate this problem, issues with the toxicity and tolerance of certain compounds and continuous microbial evolution have forced researchers to focus on screening various phytochemical dietary compounds for antimicrobial activity. Linolenic acid and its derivatives (eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid) are omega-3 fatty acids that have been studied due to their role in human health, being important for the brain, the eye, the cardiovascular system, and general human growth. However, their utilization as antimicrobial agents has not been widely appreciated, perhaps due to a lack of understanding of antimicrobial mechanisms, toxicity, and route of administration. Therefore, this review focuses on the efficacy, mechanism, and toxicity of omega-3 fatty acids as alternative therapeutic agents for treating and preventing diseases associated with pathogenic microorganisms.
Animals ; Animals, Genetically Modified ; Anti-Infective Agents/chemistry* ; Antioxidants/chemistry* ; Bacterial Infections/microbiology* ; Cell Membrane/drug effects* ; Clinical Trials as Topic ; Docosahexaenoic Acids/chemistry* ; Drug Resistance, Bacterial ; Eicosapentaenoic Acid/chemistry* ; Fatty Acids, Omega-3/chemistry* ; Fishes ; Humans ; Lipids/chemistry* ; Mice ; Microbiota ; Rats ; alpha-Linolenic Acid/chemistry*