Dietary supplementation with omega-3 fatty acid attenuates 5-fluorouracil induced mucositis in mice

Abstract

Background: Studies showed the positive effects of omega-3 fatty acid (n-3 FA) for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease as it alleviated the symptoms and promoted better mucosal integrity. The objective of this study was to determine whether a diet with the addition of n-3 FA helps control the inflammation observed in 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) induced mucositis. Methods: BALB/c mice were randomly divided into four groups as follows: 1: control (CTL), fed a standard chow diet; 2: CTL∈+∈n-3 FA - n-3 FA, fed a diet with n-3; 3: mucositis (MUC), fed a standard chow diet and subjected to mucositis; and 4: MUC+ n-3 FA, fed a diet with n-3 FA and subjected to mucositis. On the 8th day, the animals of the MUC and MUC∈+∈n-3 FA groups received an intraperitoneal injection of 300 mg/kg 5-FU for mucositis induction. After 24 h or 72 h, all mice were euthanized and evaluated for intestinal permeability, bacterial translocation, intestinal histology and apoptosis. Results: Mice that received the diet with n-3 FA and a 5-FU injection showed less weight loss compared to the animals of the MUC group (p∈