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Antioxidative Effects of Docosahexaenoic Acid in the Cerebrum Versus Cerebellum and Brainstem of Aged Hypercholesterolemic Rats
Author(s) -
Hossain Md. Shahdat,
Hashimoto Michio,
Gamoh Shuji,
Masumura Sumio
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
journal of neurochemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.75
H-Index - 229
eISSN - 1471-4159
pISSN - 0022-3042
DOI - 10.1046/j.1471-4159.1999.0721133.x
Subject(s) - docosahexaenoic acid , cerebrum , brainstem , cerebellum , medicine , endocrinology , chemistry , biochemistry , fatty acid , central nervous system , polyunsaturated fatty acid
: Female Wistar rats (100 weeks old) were divided into twogroups ; one group was fed a high‐cholesterol diet (HC) and the other ahigh‐cholesterol diet plus docosahexaenoic acid (HC‐fed DHA rats). Fatty acidconcentrations in brain tissues were analyzed by gas chromatography. In theHC‐fed DHA rats, brain catalase (CAT), GSH, and glutathione peroxidase (GPx)increased in the cerebrum but not in the brainstem or cerebellum. The rate ofincrease was 23.0% for CAT, 24.5% for GSH, and 26.3% for GPx compared withthat in the HC animals ( p < 0.05). In the cerebrum of the HC‐fed DHA rats, CAT and GPx increased, with an increase in the ratio of DHA to arachidonic acid. The cerebrum, unlike the other areas of the brain, seems to be more sensitive to DHA in stimulating CAT and GPx. We suggest that DHA plays an important role in inducing an antioxidative defense against active oxygen by enhancing the cerebral activities of CAT, GPx, and GSH.