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ARS Home » Plains Area » Grand Forks, North Dakota » Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center » Healthy Body Weight Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #187240
Title: DIETARY BORON, FISH OIL, AND THEIR INTERACTION AFFECT RAT BEHAVIOR AND BRAIN MINERAL COMPOSITION

Author
item Nielsen, Forrest - Frosty
item Penland, James

Submitted to: Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology Conference
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/10/2005
Publication Date: 3/6/2006
Citation: Nielsen, F.H., Penland, J.G. 2006. Dietary boron, fish oil, and their interaction affect rat behavior and brain mineral composition [abstract]. FASEB J. 20(4):A176.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Both boron (B) and fish oil (FO) are thought to affect central nervous function though influencing the physicochemical characteristics of cell membranes. Thus, an experiment was performed to determine whether FO instead of safflower oil (SO) in the diet would modify changes in rat behavior and brain mineral composition induced by B deficiency. Female rats were fed diets containing 0.1 mg B/kg in a factorial arrangement with variables of supplemental B at 0 (B-def) or 3 (B-adq) mg/kg and fat sources of 75 g SO/kg or 65 g FO (menhaden oil)/kg plus 10 g linoleic acid/kg (added to assure adequacy of n-6 fatty acids). After 6 weeks, 6 females per treatment were bred. Dams and pups continued on their respective diets through gestation, lactation and after weaning. Between ages 15 and 20 weeks, behavioral reactivity, visual function, activity, and startle response of 15 males per treatment were determined. Brains and other tissues were collected at age 21 weeks. Rats fed the B-def diet exhibited deficiency signs of decreased body weight and femur B concentrations. B-adq rats were more active than B-def rats with a tendency (P<0.10) for this difference to be less when FO was fed. B-def rats fed FO exhibited a different behavioral reactivity than rats in the other 3 treatments. B-def rats fed FO were less anxious based on more entries into open arms of a plus maze and overall movements, but showed the highest mean startle response. B-def rats fed FO also exhibited the lowest copper and zinc, and highest B, concentrations in brain. The findings show that FO and B each can influence the effect of the other on rat behavior and brain composition. (Supported by in-house USDA funds)