Do diets enriched with oil prevent multiple organ failure in mice?
OBJECTIVE
To examine the effects of various diets supplemented with fat in an experimental model of multiple organ failure in mice.


METHODS
Two randomised laboratory studies.


METHODS
University hospital.


METHODS
177 female Swiss mice (weight 20-30 g).


METHODS
Experiment I: 59 mice; 20 received no dietary supplement, 20 received 15% palm oil, and 19 received 14% fish oil plus 1% corn oil, eight weeks before injection of 100 mg zymosan/100 g in 4 ml liquid paraffin; 5 mice in each group killed after 1.5 hours, and the rest on day 12. Experiment II: 118 mice; 29 received no dietary supplement, 30 received 15% palm oil, 30 1% corn oil, and 29 14% fish oil, 12 weeks before injection with zymosan. 20 mice in each group received streptomycin 5 g/l in drinking water starting five days before injection of zymosan and continued until the end of the experiment. All mice killed on day 12.


METHODS
Mortality, body and organ weights, and culture of peritoneal fluid. Detection of tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) in plasma.


RESULTS
Experiment I: only 5 control mice, 2 in the fish oil, and 7 in the palm oil, groups survived to day 12. Spleens in mice given fish oil were significantly heavier than those that had had palm oil (p = 0.03). Experiment II: 108/118 mice survived until day 12, and most had macroscopic signs of multiple organ failure. Liver weights in the fish oil group were lower than in the control (p = 0.04) and palm oil (p = 0.03) groups, and kidney weights higher than in the corn oil group (p = 0.007); there were no differences in the amounts of TNF-alpha detected in the blood. One culture in each experiment grew bacteria.


CONCLUSIONS
Diets supplemented with fish oil did not prevent multiple organ failure or reduce plasma concentrations of TNF-alpha. Decontamination of the gut did not alter these results.
Gielen
C J
CJ
Department of General Surgery, University Hospital Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
van As
A B
AB
Goris
R J
RJ
D000818:Animals; D003314:Corn Oil / Q000008:administration & dosage; D004042:Dietary Fats, Unsaturated / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D005395:Fish Oils / Q000008:administration & dosage; D051379:Mice; D008815:Mice, Inbred Strains; D009102:Multiple Organ Failure / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000517:prevention & control*; D000073878:Palm Oil; D010938:Plant Oils / Q000008:administration & dosage; D011897:Random Allocation; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000378:metabolism; D015054:Zymosan
D004042:Dietary Fats, Unsaturated; D005395:Fish Oils; D010938:Plant Oils; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D000073878:Palm Oil; D003314:Corn Oil; D015054:Zymosan