RESUMO
Polyunsaturated fatty acids, including docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), are natural constituents of the human diet. DHA-algal oil is produced through the use of the marine protist, Ulkenia sp. The reproductive toxicity of DHA-algal oil was assessed in a one-generation study. Rats were provided diets containing DHA-algal oil at concentrations of 1.5, 3.0, or 7.5%, and the control group received a diet containing 7.5% corn oil. Males and females were treated for 10 weeks prior to mating and during mating. Females continued to receive test diets during gestation and lactation. In parental animals, clinical observations, mortality, fertility, and reproductive performance were unaffected by treatment. Differences in food consumption, body weight, and liver weight in the treated groups were not considered to be due to an adverse effect of DHA-algal oil. Spleen weight increases in treated animals were associated with extramedullary hematopoiesis. Yellow discoloration of abdominal adipose tissue was observed in rats from the high-dose group, and histological examination revealed steatitis in all treated parental groups. Exposure to DHA-algal oil did not influence the physical development of F(1) animals. These results demonstrate that DHA-algal oil at dietary concentrations of up to 7.5% in rats does not affect reproductive capacity or pup development.
Assuntos
Ácidos Docosa-Hexaenoicos/toxicidade , Óleos/toxicidade , Reprodução/efeitos dos fármacos , Testes de Toxicidade/métodos , Animais , Animais Recém-Nascidos , Peso ao Nascer/efeitos dos fármacos , Ácidos Docosa-Hexaenoicos/administração & dosagem , Ácidos Docosa-Hexaenoicos/química , Relação Dose-Resposta a Droga , Ingestão de Alimentos/efeitos dos fármacos , Desenvolvimento Embrionário/efeitos dos fármacos , Eucariotos/química , Feminino , Desenvolvimento Fetal/efeitos dos fármacos , Hematopoese Extramedular/efeitos dos fármacos , Fígado/efeitos dos fármacos , Fígado/patologia , Masculino , Óleos/administração & dosagem , Óleos/química , Tamanho do Órgão/efeitos dos fármacos , Hipófise/efeitos dos fármacos , Hipófise/patologia , Gravidez , Ratos , Ratos Wistar , Reprodução/fisiologia , Baço/efeitos dos fármacos , Baço/patologia , Gordura Subcutânea Abdominal/efeitos dos fármacos , Gordura Subcutânea Abdominal/patologia , Aumento de Peso/efeitos dos fármacosRESUMO
Polyunsaturated fatty acids, including docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), are natural constituents of the human diet. DHA-algal oil is produced through the use of the non-toxigenic and non-pathogenic marine protist, Ulkenia sp. The safety of DHA-algal oil was assessed in a subchronic toxicity study and in genotoxicity studies. In a 90-day study, rats were orally administered water or DHA-algal oil at concentrations of 0, 500, 1000, and 2000 mg/kg in combination with 2000, 1500, 1000 or 0 mg/kg DHA-containing fish oil, respectively. Additional animals were administered water, 2000 mg/kg DHA-algal oil, or 2000 mg/kg fish oil for 90 days, followed by a 4-week recovery phase. No treatment-related effects were observed in clinical observations, food and water consumption, mortality, gross pathology, and histopathology. Increased body weights and liver weights in oil-treated groups were attributed to the large lipid load and were not regarded as toxicologically significant. Furthermore, no treatment-related differences in the measured parameters between the DHA-algal oil and fish oil groups were detected. In genotoxicity experiments, DHA-algal oil exerted no mutagenic activity in various bacterial strains, nor did it induce chromosomal aberrations in Chinese hamster fibroblast cells. These results support the safety of DHA-algal oil as a dietary source of DHA.
