Effects of fish oil supplementation during the suckling period on auditory neural conduction in n-3 fatty acid-deficient rat pups

Introduction: omega-3 fatty acid,particularly in the form of fish oil,has a structural and biological role in various systems of the body. the auditory and nervous systems are both influenced by omega-3 fatty acids,with omega-3 deficiency having devastating effects on both systems. numerous studies have attempted to investigate this further. this study aimed to evaluate neural conduction in n-3 fatty acid-deficient rat pups following supplementation with fish oil during the suckling period. materials and methods: in this interventional and experimental study,omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil (fo) were fed to rat pups of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (pufa)-deficient dams. changes in auditory neural conduction were compared with those of control and n-3 pufa-deficient groups using auditory brainstem response (abr). the parameters of interest were p1,p3,and p4 absolute latency,p1-p3,p1-p4,and p3-p4 interpeak latency (ipl),and p4/p1 amplitude ratio. the rat pups were given oral fo,5 ml/g weight for 17 days,between the age of 5 and 21 days. results: no significant group differences were observed in p1 and p3 absolute latency (p>0.05),but there was a significant difference in p4 (p=0.05). the n-3 pufa-deficient + vehicle group had the most prolonged (the worst) p1-p4 ipl and p3-p4 ipl compared with control and n-3 pufa-deficient + fo groups. there was no significant difference in p1-p4 ipl and p3-p4 ipl between the n-3 pufa-deficient + fo group and the control group (p>0.05). there was a significant effect of diet on p1-p4 ipl and p3-p4 ipl between groups (p<0.05). conclusion: the results of present study showed the effect of omega-3 deficiency on auditory neural structure during pregnancy and the lactation period. additionally,we observed reduced reduction in devastating effects on neural conduction in n-3 fatty acid-deficient rat pups following the supplementation of fo during the suckling period.