Prolonged consumption of trans fat favors the development of orofacial dyskinesia and anxiety-like symptoms in older rats.

Polyunsaturated fatty acids (FAs) are cell membrane components involved in brain functions. We hypothesized that long-term trans fat consumption is able to modify the membrane FAs composition impairing behavioral parameters related to aging. In this study, a comparison of behavioral parameters at 10 and 15 months of trans fat consumption by male Wistar rats was made. Animals were fed for 10 and 15 months from weaning with diets containing either 20% w/w soybean oil (SO), rich in n-6 PUFA, hydrogenated vegetable fat (HVF), rich in trans FAs, or a standard diet (control - C). At both evaluation times, HVF-fed rats showed progressively increased parameters of orofacial dyskinesia, fear and anxiety-like symptoms. The HVF diet reduced locomotor and exploratory activities progressively over 10 and 15 months of supplementation, while the standard and SO diets did not. In this study, we showed that chronic trans FAs consumption from weaning is able to favor the development of neuromotor and neuropsychiatric diseases, whose intensity was time dependent.

Short term dietary fish oil supplementation improves motor deficiencies related to reserpine-induced parkinsonism in rats.

Fish oil (FO) supplementation could cause an increase in the concentration of plasmatic free fatty acids and, consequently, could compete with pro-inflammatory arachidonic acid (ARA) derived from brain biomembranes metabolism in the cerebrospinal fluid. Essential fatty acids (EFA) (n-3) have been reported by their antioxidant and neuroprotective properties, and therefore the influence of the FO supplementation on the reserpine-induced motor disorders was studied. Wistar rats were orally treated with FO solution for 5 days, and co-treated with reserpine (R; 1 mg/kg/mL) or its vehicle for 3 days (every other day). Reserpine-induced orofacial dyskinesia and catalepsy (P < 0.05) were prevented by FO (P < 0.05). Biochemical evaluations showed that reserpine treatment increased the lipid peroxidation in the cortex and striatum (P < 0.05), while the FO supplementation prevented this oxidative effect in both brain regions (P < 0.05). Our results showed the protective role of FO in the brain lipid membranes, reinforcing the beneficial effect of n-3 fatty acids in the prevention of degenerative and motor disorders.