title: Comparative efficacy of n-3 and n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids in modulating ventricular fibrillation threshold in marmoset monkeys.
abstract: Programmed electrical stimulation in anesthetized marmoset monkeys was used to examine relative antiarrhythmic efficacies of dietary n-3 and n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) from fish and plant oils. Diets contained 31% of energy (en%) as fat, comprising 15 en% saturated fat and 7 en% PUFAs, obtained by blending sheep fat with sunflower seed (SF/SSO) or fish oil (SF/FO) and a base diet. After 16-wk feeding, ventricular fibrillation (VF) was inducible in 6 of 10 animals on each diet under control conditions. The VF threshold (VFT) was significantly elevated in the SF/FO group (33.3 +/- 3.1 mA; n = 6) compared with the SF/SSO group (14.3 +/- 4.9 mA; n = 6). VFT, reduced during acute myocardial ischemia with 10 of 10 animals inducible per diet, remained significantly higher with SF/FO feeding. The SF/FO diet contained 3.8 en% as n-3 PUFAs, which was incorporated as 31% of myocardial membrane fatty acids. Dietary n-3 PUFA reduced vulnerability of normal or ischemic myocardium to arrhythmias in a nonhuman primate.
authors.affiliation: Cardiac Research Unit, CSIRO Division of Human Nutrition, Adelaide, Australia.
authors.forename: P L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: McLennan
authors.forename: T M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Bridle
authors.forename: M Y
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Abeywardena
authors.forename: J S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Charnock
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001145:Arrhythmias, Cardiac / Q000503:physiopathology; D004042:Dietary Fats, Unsaturated / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D004594:Electrophysiology; D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3 / Q000494:pharmacology*; D043371:Fatty Acids, Omega-6; D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D000882:Haplorhini; D007511:Ischemia / Q000503:physiopathology; D007545:Isoproterenol / Q000494:pharmacology; D008297:Male; D009206:Myocardium / Q000737:chemistry; D014693:Ventricular Fibrillation / Q000188:drug therapy*
chemical_list: D004042:Dietary Fats, Unsaturated; D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3; D043371:Fatty Acids, Omega-6; D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated; D007545:Isoproterenol