Abstract
BackgroundIn the western world, heart failure (HF) is one of the most important causes of cardiovascular mortality. Supplement with n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) has been shown to improve cardiac function in HF and to decrease mortality after myocardial infarction (MI). The molecular structure and composition of n-3 PUFA varies between different marine sources and this may be of importance for their biological effects. Krill oil, unlike fish oil supplements, contains the major part of the n-3 PUFA in the form of phospholipids. This study investigated effects of krill oil on cardiac remodeling after experimental MI. Rats were randomised to pre-treatment with krill oil or control feed 14 days before induction of MI. Seven days post-MI, the rats were examined with echocardiography and rats in the control group were further randomised to continued control feed or krill oil feed for 7 weeks before re-examination with echocardiography and euthanization.ResultsThe echocardiographic evaluation showed significant attenuation of LV dilatation in the group pretreated with krill oil compared to controls. Attenuated heart weight, lung weight, and levels of mRNA encoding classical markers of LV stress, matrix remodeling and inflammation reflected these findings. The total composition of fatty acids were examined in the left ventricular (LV) tissue and all rats treated with krill oil showed a significantly higher proportion of n-3 PUFA in the LV tissue, although no difference was seen between the two krill oil groups.ConclusionsSupplement with krill oil leads to a proportional increase of n-3 PUFA in myocardial tissue and supplement given before induction of MI attenuates LV remodeling.
Highlights
In the western world, heart failure (HF) is one of the most important causes of cardiovascular mortality
Effect of krill oil on cardiac structure and function There were no significant differences in tibia length (TL) and increase of body weight (BW) after 8 weeks between the myocardial infarction (MI) groups
The heart weight-to-body weight and the lung weight-to-body weight ratios was significantly smaller in the MI-krill oil pretreated (PT) group compared to the MI-control and MI-krill oil non-pretreated groups at 8 weeks (Table 1)
Summary
Heart failure (HF) is one of the most important causes of cardiovascular mortality. Krill (Euphausia superba) is a small Antarctic crustacean and its extracted oil contains a high proportion of n-3 PUFA bound to phospholipids This molecular makeup is different from traditional fish oils, where the n-3 PUFA are mainly bound to triglycerides or ethyl esters [9]. This difference may be important as the molecular form of n-3 PUFA has been suggested relevant for their biological effects [10]. Phospholipids themselves have been shown to have beneficial effects on lipid metabolism [11] These properties could suggest a beneficial effect of krill oil during MI and post-MI remodeling. To further elucidate this issue, we investigated the effects of krill oil on cardiac remodeling and function in rats after MI
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