Effect of Erabu sea snake Laticauda semifasciata oil intake on maze-learning ability in mice

Abstract

: The oil of Erabu sea snake Laticauda semifasciata, a marine reptile, is used as a health promoting food in Japan. The aims of the present study were to determine the effect of Erabu sea snake oil on the learning ability in mice. Male mice (6 months old) were fed a diet containing 5% lard, 5% Erabu sea snake oil, or 5% fish oil mixture, containing the same percentages (12.8%) of docosahexaenoic acid as the sea snake oil. Maze-learning ability was assessed 4 months after the start of the experiment and the brain fatty acid composition was measured after 4.5 months. In the third trial run of the maze-learning task, the number of times that a mouse strayed into blind alleys in the maze was significantly lower in the sea snake and fish oil mixture groups than in lard group. These results suggest that sea snake oil exerts an equivalent influence on the learning ability in mice to that of fish oil.