Dietary n-3 Fatty Acids Inhibit Fever Induced by Inflammation in the Rat

[摘要] Modification of endogenous eicosanoid synthesis by dietary n-3 fattyacid supplementation reduces febrile responses, but the mechanismsunderlying these effectsin vivohave not been determined. In thepresent study, local inflammation was induced by intramuscularinjection ofturpentine in rats fed control or n-3 supplemented dietsfor 8-9 weeks. In animals fed the control diet, turpentine inducedfever, hypermetabolism, marked local inflammation (oedema),increased plasma IL-6 concentrations and raised cerebrospinal fluid(CSF) concentrations of PGE2. N-3 fatty acid supplementationsignificantly inhibited the rise in CSF PGE2, fever andhypermetaboHsm induced by turpentine. Local inflammation andincreased plasma IL-6 concentrations were not affected by n-3supplementation. These findings suggest that modification of dietaryfat intake inhibits fever via reduced release of prostaglandins,probably within the brain, but does not affect the local or afferentsignals involved in fever generation.

[学科分类] 生理学与病理学