Long-term consumption of fish oil partially protects brain tissue from age-related neurodegeneration

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of fish oil supplementation on aging in the cerebral cortex, hippocampus and cerebellum of rats. Results of biochemical and histological analyses of brain tissue collected from young rats (age: 2 months) prior to the experiment were compared with the results obtained from the 14-month-old animals assigned to the control and supplemented group. Total polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) composition and thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) levels were assessed in the examined brain regions. Furthermore, the presence of lipofuscin and amyloid-beta, as well as the number of apoptotic and proliferative cells, was determined in the brain tissue. The analyses revealed that the number of proliferative neurons was significantly higher in the fish oil treated group in the cerebral cortex, hippocampus proper and dentate gyrus. Furthermore, in animals fed the fish oil-supplemented diet, amyloid-beta plaques were not observed in the examined brain regions. These results suggest that fish oil supplementation has a neuroprotective effect on the process of proliferation and may protect against spontaneous amyloidosis in the brain.