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Research: NIETO and colleagues,
Listed in Issue 75
Abstract
NIETO and colleagues, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain, investigated whether consumption of monounsaturated (MUFAs) and/or polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) of the n-3 and n-6 series could help repair intestinal damage and reduce inflammation in an experimental model of ulcerative colitis (UC).
Background
Methodology
2,4,6-trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid-treated rats were fed diets enriched in olive oil (OO), fish oil (FO) or purified pig brain phospholipids (BPL) for 1 or 2 weeks. The investigators assessed colonic damage macroscopically and microscopically. They analysed ultrastructural and histological changes and also measured plasma and colonic mucosal fatty acid profiles and some biochemical markers of injury and inflammation .
Results
Plasma and mucosa fatty acid profiles were broadly similar to dietary profiles. OO-fed rats with UC had higher plasma MUFA proportions compared with those fed FO or BPL for 1 or 2 weeks. FO-fed rats with UC had higher [plasma] n-3 long-chain PUFA [proportions] than those fed OO or BPL. After 1 week, FO-fed rats with UC had lower MUFA mucosa levels and higher n-3 long-chain PUFA levels than those fed OO or BPL, had lower alkaline phosphatase (AP) and mieloperoxidase (MPO) activities and prostaglandin E(2) (PGE[2]) levels, and showed less macroscopic and microscopic colonic damage, fewer necrotic areas within the mucosa, more goblet cells with mature mucin granules, and enhanced histological repair .
Conclusion
The findings suggest that a balanced diet containing n-3 long-chain PUFAs could reduce inflammation and mucosal damage in UC .
References
Nieto N et al. Dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids improve histological and biochemical alterations in rats with experimental ulcerative colitis. The Journal of Nutrition 132 (1): 11-9. Jan 2002.
Comment
For sufferers of ulcerative colitis, the above research may be of inestimable benefit, i.e. that omega-3 PUFAs may help to reduce inflammation and damage.
