The beneficial effect of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids on doxorubicin-induced chronic heart failure in rats.

This study was designed to assess the effects of dietary supplementation with n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) from fish oil on the response of doxorubicin-induced chronic heart failure in rats. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were treated daily for 8 weeks with normal saline or n-3 PUFA intragastrically after induction of myocardial injury by intraperitoneal injection of doxorubicin 2 mg/kg once weekly for 8 weeks. Cardiac function was assessed by echocardiography. The cytoprotective role of n-3 PUFA against doxorubicin-induced myocardial injury was demonstrated by light microscopy, and serum cytokines (tumour necrosis factor-alpha and interleukin-10) were analysed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Doxorubicin induced death, alterations in echocardiography parameters and histological damage, all of which are features that characterize heart failure. There were significant differences between the doxorubicin-induced heart failure group and the n-3 PUFA-treated group in terms of echocardiography parameters and cytokine changes. Thus, dietary supplementation with n-3 PUFA attenuated doxorubicin-induced cardiac dysfunction, an effect that might be associated with recovery from an imbalance of the cytokine network.