Abstract
Metabolic syndrome, especially its component related to dyslipidemia, is related to the development of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), which is a disease with a significant global prevalence. Supplementation with omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids emerged as a complementary therapeutic possibility for dyslipidemia, but its benefits are questioned. This paper aims at evaluating the effects of fish oil supplementation in rats with hypercholesterolemia induced by hypercholesterolemic diet (HD). The study design is based on an experimental model in which the animals were randomly divided into 3 groups: G1 (standard commercial feed + saline solution); G2 (hypercholesterolemic diet + saline solution) and G3 (hypercholesterolemic diet + fish oil) over a period of 16 weeks. Metabolic control parameters and oxidative stress biomarkers were evaluated according to standardized methodologies. The G3 group showed significantly lower values of plasma concentrations of TG, and hepatic myeloperoxidase as well as higher erythrocyte superoxide dismutase activity (p < 0.05). Regarding histopathological analysis, there was lipid accumulation in the liver of animals from group G2; meanwhile, hepatocytes reorganization and expressive reduction of lipid vacuoles and hepatic TG content was observed in group G3. This study demonstrated how fish oil supplementation reduced the plasma concentration and hepatic content of triglycerides, as well as liver tissue damage in histopathological analysis.
Highlights
Dyslipidemias are disorders of lipoprotein metabolism circulating in the blood, characterized by high serum concentrations of total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), lowdensity lipoprotein-linked cholesterol (LDLc), and/or low high-density lipoprotein-linked cholesterol (HDLc) [1]
The effect of fish oil supplementation was described on following parameters: (i) lipid profile and glycemia; (ii) biochemical markers of liver function and on macroscopic and histological aspects; (iii) biomarkers of lipid peroxidation; (iv) biomarkers of antioxidant activity; and (v) hepatic cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations
About the reduction of hepatic TG, a similar result was reported by Haimeur et al [34] with the supplementation of 0.5% fish oil in the high-fat diet compared to rats receiving hypercholesterolemic diet (HD) alone for 8 weeks, and they attributed these results to increased beta oxidation and decreased lipogenesis induced by high-fat diet
Summary
Dyslipidemias are disorders of lipoprotein metabolism circulating in the blood, characterized by high serum concentrations of total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), lowdensity lipoprotein-linked cholesterol (LDLc), and/or low high-density lipoprotein-linked cholesterol (HDLc) [1]. Metabolic syndrome (MS) includes aspects of dyslipidemia, in addition to abdominal obesity, high blood pressure, and insulin resistance. These factors are related to a state of proinflammatory and oxidative stress and a dysregulation of the innate immune system. The increase in the circulating concentration of lipids is accompanied by metabolic alterations and deleterious effects, including hepatic damage [3]. Several strategies are adopted for prevention or treatment of these harmful effects caused by dyslipidemia, among which are nutritional interventions with partial replacement of saturated fatty acids in the diet by mono and polyunsaturated fatty acids [4]
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