Dietary (n-3) fatty acids alter plasma fatty acids and leukotriene B synthesis by stimulated neutrophils from healthy geriatric Beagles

Abstract

The study objective was to determine the effect of feeding food enriched in (n-3) fatty acids (FA) on plasma FA profiles and leukotriene B (LTB) synthesis by stimulated peripheral blood neutrophils from dogs. For 36 weeks, two groups of dogs (n = 5) were fed food that contained either a low ratio of (n-6)-(n-3) FA (1.31:1; fish oil-enriched food) or a high ratio of (n - 6)-(n-3) FA (40.6:1; corn oil-enriched food). Consumption of food enriched in fish oil resulted in higher plasma concentrations of eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid and lower concentrations of arachidonic acid. Neutrophils from dogs fed fish oil-enriched food produced 7.6-fold more LTB(5)(P = 0.002), and the ratio of LTB(5)-LTB(4) concentrations was 8.3-fold higher (P < 0.001) compared with dogs fed corn oil-enriched food. Dietary FA can modulate leukotriene production by neutrophils in dogs, and suggests that foods enriched in (n-3) FA from fish oil may have value in the treatment of canine inflammatory diseases.

Evaluating oxidative stress, serological- and haematological status of dogs suffering from osteoarthritis, after supplementing their diet with fish or corn oil

“…It has also been shown that omega-3 fatty acids are able to interfere with leucocyte chemotaxis, adhesion molecule expression and leucocyte-endothelial adhesive interactions [60], the effect of which, attributed to the decrease of AA content of cells involved in immune responses, is associated with clinical improvement of inflammatory diseases including rheumatoid arthritis [100]. Even though a higher ratio of leukotriene B5/B4 has been reported in dogs supplemented with fish oil than in dogs given corn oil [17], no information on leucocyte counts in studies with fish oil supplementation of healthy dogs or dogs with OA was earlier available in the literature. A clinical study in dogs has, however, shown that the concentration of leukotriene B4 in osteoarthritic hip joint capsules was higher than in clinically normal ones [101].…”

“…The search for more natural anti-inflammatory agents that can selectively block the activity of COX-2 during inflammation is ongoing, with enhanced therapeutic effect and little or no side effects even with prolonged usage high on the wish list. Scientists have provided new evidence that fish oil supplementation decreases the formation of pro-inflammatory prostanoids, which, when produced in excess, increase inflammation in various tissues and organs [17, 18]. Fish oil is rich in docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), n-3 fatty acids that act as competitive substrates for the enzymes of AA metabolism and its products [19].…”

An un-commissioned randomized, placebo-controlled double-blind study to test the effect of deep sea fish oil as a pain reliever for dogs suffering from canine OA

“…The proposed anti-inflammatory working mechanisms of fish oil lies in their high content of acids from the last section of this EPA cascade, namely EPA and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Also in dogs it has been shown that by increasing the content of EPA or other oils from this particular cascade, there will be partial replacement of AA in cell membranes by EPA and DHA, which leads to a shift from the pro-inflammatory eicosanoids that the AA cascade forms to the anti-inflammatory eicosanoids the EPA cascade forms [22,23]. EPA is also known to have anti-inflammatory effects of its own; it may suppress the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-1β and −6 and tumor necrosis factor-α [24-26].…”

Nutritionally Responsive Dermatoses

“…Healthy elderly Beagles fed diets that were supplemented with fish oil to achieve an omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acid ratio of 1.4:1 had altered plasma fatty acids (increased DHA and EPA and decreased AA) and had reduced prostaglandin E 2 (PGE 2 ) production by peripheral blood mononuclear cells. 55 Plasma concentrations of EPA and AA reflected dietary intake, and a strong and significant correlation was found between the plasma ratio of EPA:AA and the ratio of LTB 5 to LTB 4 produced by stimulated neutrophils. 54 A follow-up study was conducted to examine the relationship between plasma fatty acid concentrations and leukotriene production by peripheral blood neutrophils in dogs fed these diets for 36 weeks.…”