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Effects of high-dose fish oil on rheumatoid arthritis after stopping nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs. Clinical and immune correlates.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the following: 1) whether dietary supplementation with fish oil will allow the discontinuation of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA); 2) the clinical efficacy of high-dose dietary omega 3 fatty acid fish oil supplementation in RA patients; and 3) the effect of fish oil supplements on the production of multiple cytokines in this population. METHODS: Sixty-six RA patients entered a double-blind, placebo-controlled, prospective study of fish oil supplementation while taking diclofenac (75 mg twice a day). Patients took either 130 mg/kg/day of omega 3 fatty acids or 9 capsules/day of corn oil. Placebo diclofenac was substituted at week 18 or 22, and fish oil supplements were continued for 8 weeks (to week 26 or 30). Serum levels of interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta), IL-2, IL-6, and IL-8 and tumor necrosis factor alpha were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay at baseline and during the study. RESULTS: In the group taking fish oil, there were significant decreases from baseline in the mean (+/- SEM) number of tender joints (5.3 +/- 0.835; P < 0.0001), duration of morning stiffness (-67.7 +/- 23.3 minutes; P = 0.008), physician's and patient's evaluation of global arthritis activity (-0.33 +/- 0.13; P = 0.017 and -0.38 +/- 0.17; P = 0.036, respectively), and physician's evaluation of pain (-0.38 +/- 0.12; P = 0.004). In patients taking corn oil, no clinical parameters improved from baseline. The decrease in the number of tender joints remained significant 8 weeks after discontinuing diclofenac in patients taking fish oil (-7.8 +/- 2.6; P = 0.011) and the decrease in the number of tender joints at this time was significant compared with that in patients receiving corn oil (P = 0.043). IL-1 beta decreased significantly from baseline through weeks 18 and 22 in patients consuming fish oil (-7.7 +/- 3.1; P = 0.026). CONCLUSION: Patients taking dietary supplements of fish oil exhibit improvements in clinical parameters of disease activity from baseline, including the number of tender joints, and these improvements are associated with significant decreases in levels of IL-1 beta from baseline. Some patients who take fish oil are able to discontinue NSAIDs without experiencing a disease flare.

Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal↗

The effect of certain antibiotics on bolti fish (Tilapia nilotica) preservation.

The shelf life of bolti fish (Tilapia nilotica) caught in the river Nile, has been successfully prolonged for about 9 days by dipping in tetracycline (TC) or nisin solution followed by refrigeration, although the initial microbial contamination in the fresh fish was very high. The caught fish were gutted and treated with 10 and 20 ppm TC solutions for 10 and 15 min by dipping, and with 500 and 1000 R.U. nisin/g fish for 20 and 30 min. The treated and control fish samples, were stored and refrigerated at (4 +/- 1) degree C for 12 days. Total bacterial counts, the most probable number of coliform bacteria and lactic acid bacteria in the fish treated with TC or nisin, were lower than those of the control, especially at 20 ppm TC, 15 min dipping, and 1000 R.U. nisin/g, 30 min. Further more TC was more effective against yeasts and moulds. This result suggest that antibiotics would help in transporting chilled fish from the highdam lake in Aswan to Cairo (about 900 km). According to the present results it may be recommended to use the antibiotic TC, with the concentration of 20 ppm for 15 min dipping, for prolonging the shelflife of bolti fish. The presence and increase of coliform bacteria in fish, draw the attention to the necessity of hygienic measures when dealing with such fish until to the consumption.

Animals↗

Contribution of comparative fish studies to general endocrinology: structure and function of some osmoregulatory hormones.

Fish endocrinologists are commonly motivated to pursue their research driven by their own interests in these aquatic animals. However, the data obtained in fish studies not only satisfy their own interests but often contribute more generally to the studies of other vertebrates, including mammals. The life of fishes is characterized by the aquatic habitat, which demands many physiological adjustments distinct from the terrestrial life. Among them, body fluid regulation is of particular importance as the body fluids are exposed to media of varying salinities only across the thin respiratory epithelia of the gills. Endocrine systems play pivotal roles in the homeostatic control of body fluid balance. Judging from the habitat-dependent control mechanisms, some osmoregulatory hormones of fish should have undergone functional and molecular evolution during the ecological transition to the terrestrial life. In fact, water-regulating hormones such as vasopressin are essential for survival on the land, whereas ion-regulating hormones such as natriuretic peptides, guanylins and adrenomedullins are diversified and exhibit more critical functions in aquatic species. In this short review, we introduce some examples illustrating how comparative fish studies contribute to general endocrinology by taking advantage of such differences between fishes and tetrapods. In a functional context, fish studies often afford a deeper understanding of the essential actions of a hormone across vertebrate taxa. Using the natriuretic peptide family as an example, we suggest that more functional studies on fishes will bring similar rewards of understanding. At the molecular level, recent establishment of genome databases in fishes and mammals brings clues to the evolutionary history of hormone molecules via a comparative genomic approach. Because of the functional and molecular diversification of ion-regulating hormones in fishes, this approach sometimes leads to the discovery of new hormones in tetrapods as exemplified by adrenomedullin 2.

Adrenomedullin↗

Fish consumption and contaminant exposure among Montreal-area sportfishers: pilot study.

A 1995 pilot study assessed sport fish consumption and contaminant exposure among Montreal-area residents fishing the frozen St. Lawrence River. Interviews conducted among 223 ice fishers met on-site were used to create an index of estimated exposure to fish-borne contaminants. A second-stage assessment of sport fish consumption and tissue contaminant burdens included 25 interviewees at the highest level of estimated contaminant exposure (of 38, or 66% of those solicited) and 15 low-exposure fishers (of 41, or 37% of those solicited). High-level fisher-consumers reported eating 0. 92+/-0.99 sport fish meals/week during the previous 3 weeks compared to 0.38+/-0.21 (P<0.05) for the low-level group. Based on the product of consumption frequency times mass of sport fish meals consumed, high-level consumers ate a mean of 18.3 kg of sport fish annually versus 3.3 kg for the low-level consumers. Tissue contaminant assessments showed significant (P<0.05) groupwise differences: 0-1 cm hair mercury (median 0.73 microgram/g for the high versus 0.23 microgram/g for the low group), lipid-adjusted plasma PCB congeners (Aroclor 1260: median 0.77 microgram/g versus 0.47 microgram/g), and lipid-adjusted plasma DDE (median 0.35 microgram/g versus 0.26 microgram/g). No participant had a hair mercury or plasma DDE concentration above Health Canada recommendations but 2/25 high-level participants (8%) had plasma Aroclor 1260 concentrations above recommended limits. The results of this pilot study suggest that a small number of Montreal-area sportfishers consume their catch as often as three times weekly and that those consuming sport fish frequently have significantly higher tissue levels of mercury, PCBs, and DDE than do infrequent consumers. On the other hand, compared to other groups in Quebec, such as the Inuit or commercial fishers on the North Shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Montreal-area sportfishers eat less fish and have lower tissue concentrations of fish-related contaminants.

Adult↗

Paternal Lake Ontario fish consumption and risk of conception delay, New York State Angler Cohort.

The aquatic ecosystems of the Great Lakes are contaminated with a variety of compounds, some of which are considered reproductive toxicants. Few studies of paternal fish consumption and reproductive endpoints have been undertaken and serve as the impetus for study. Standardized telephone interviews were conducted with 2445 female members of the New York State Angler Cohort (82% response) to update reproductive profiles and to ascertain specific information on time-to-pregnancy (TTP). The study sample includes women with a known TTP and paternal fish consumption data (n=785). Conception delay was defined as more than 12 cycles of unprotected intercourse to achieve pregnancy. Paternal fish consumption was assessed by three measures: frequency of Lake Ontario sport fish meals in 1991, numbers of years eating fish, and estimated PCB exposure from fish consumption. Adjusted ORs for number of fish meals, based on logistic regression, ranged from 0.69 to 0.80; from 0.61 to 0.82 for number of years eating fish; and from 0.44 to 1.14 for quartiles of estimated PCB exposure from fish consumption. All confidence intervals included one. These findings suggest that, based on paternal self-reports, Lake Ontario fish consumption does not increase the risk of conception delay.

Adult↗

Social interactions and cortisol treatment increase the production of aggressive electrocommunication signals in male electric fish, Apteronotus leptorhynchus.

Brown ghost knife fish, Apteronotus leptorhynchus, continually emit a weakly electric discharge that serves as a communication signal and is sensitive to sex steroids. Males modulate this signal during bouts of aggression by briefly (approximately 15 ms) increasing the discharge frequency in signals termed "chirps." The present study examined the effects of short-term (1-7 days) and long-term (6-35 days) male-male interaction on the continuous electric organ discharge (EOD), chirping behavior, and plasma levels of cortisol and two androgens, 11-ketotestosterone (11KT) and testosterone. Males housed in isolation or in pairs were tested for short-term and long-term changes in their EOD frequency and chirping rate to standardized sinusoidal electrical stimuli. Within 1 week, chirp rate was significantly higher in paired fish than in isolated fish, but EOD frequency was equivalent in these two groups of fish. Plasma cortisol levels were significantly higher in paired fish than in isolated fish, but there was no difference between groups in plasma 11KT levels. Among paired fish, cortisol levels correlated positively with chirp rate. To determine whether elevated cortisol can cause changes in chirping behavior, isolated fish were implanted with cortisol-filled or empty Silastic tubes and tested for short-term and long-term changes in electrocommunication signals and steroid levels. After 2 weeks, fish that received cortisol implants showed higher chirp rates than blank-implanted fish; there were no difference between groups in EOD frequency. Cortisol implants significantly elevated plasma cortisol levels compared to blank implants but had no effect on plasma 11KT levels. These results suggest that male-male interaction increases chirp rate by elevating levels of plasma cortisol, which, in turn, acts to modify neural activity though an 11KT-independent mechanism.

Aggression↗

Effect of dietary hyperlipidemic components and fish oil on concentration of lipids in liver and liver fatty acid profile of rats.

This investigation was attempted to clarify the effects of dietary hyperlipidemic components and fish oil on concentration of lipids in liver and liver fatty acid profile of rats. In a first experiment male Sprague-Dawley rats were maintained on a semipurified low-fat diet with 6.5% coconut oil and 1.5% safflower oil, but without added cholesterol, or a high-fat hyperlipidemic diet supplemented with 7.3% coconut oil, 7.3% beef tallow, 0.4% safflower oil, and 1.5% cholesterol for 28 days. Rats fed the hyperlipidemic diet were then switched to fish oil diets with 1.4%, 2.8%, and 5.6% fish oil in exchange for coconut oil and beef tallow for, respectively, 10 and 20 days. In a second experiment male Sprague-Dawley rats were fed low-fat or high-fat diets without or with 1.5% added cholesterol for 28 days. Half of each group was then changed to a fish oil diet (for 20 days) which contained 5.6% fish oil in exchange for coconut oil and beef tallow. In experiment 1, rats fed the hyperlipidemic diet had enlarged fatty livers within 28 days. Experiment 2 showed that cholesterol in the diet was responsible for the accumulating liver lipids. Feeding diets with added cholesterol, the proportions of saturated fatty acids (SFA), especially 18:0, were markedly reduced in liver, whereas levels of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) were greatly increased compared to diets without added cholesterol. This increase was most pronounced with respect to 16:1 and 18:1. In contrast, fish oil diets lowered MUFA level in liver in spite of its high MUFA content. Rats fed the highly saturated hyperlipidemic diet low in 18:2 n-6 had reduced 18:2 n-6 levels in liver compared to rats fed the low-fat diet without added cholesterol. Also, 20:4 n-6 level in liver was markedly reduced after the administration of the hyperlipidemic diet or the fish oil diets. Results of experiment 2 elucidate that cholesterol as well as fish oil sharply lowered 20:4 n-6 level in liver, which might be due to a reduced desaturation. In both experiments feeding fish oil increased all long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in liver. This occurred in a dose-dependent fashion and reached a maximum level with 5.6% fish oil in the diet. When additional cholesterol was applied 22:6 n-3 level in liver fell. This indicates also an impaired desaturation of PUFA due to dietary cholesterol.

Animals↗

Effects of dietary fish oil on human mammary carcinoma and on lipid-metabolizing enzymes.

The growth rate of a human mammary carcinoma, MX-1, was significantly reduced in athymic "nude" mice fed fish oil. Tumors from the fish oil-fed animals also showed a greater sensitivity to two anti-neoplastic agents, mitomycin C and doxorubicin. Mitochondria were isolated from control livers, host livers and tumors from fish oil- and corn oil-fed animals, and increased levels of 20:5n-3 and 22:6n-3 were found in mitochondrial lipids in all three tissues from the fish oil-fed animals. To investigate the effect of dietary n-3 fatty acids on lipid metabolism, the activity of the acyl-CoA:carnitine acyltransferase and three acyl-CoA desaturases were measured. Carnitine acyltransferase activity toward all four acyl-CoA substrates tested was markedly increased in mitochondria from liver by feeding fish oil. In mitochondria from tumors, feeding fish oil resulted in an increased activity toward only 18:3n-3. These data suggest that fish oil may induce an increase in the oxidation of fatty acids. The delta 9-desaturase activity was decreased in microsomes from liver and tumor from fish oil-fed animals. However, both the delta 6 and delta 5 desaturases were increased in tumor and in control liver as a result of feeding fish oil. The delta 5 desaturase was not altered in microsomes from the host animals. The effect of fish oil on the delta 5 and delta 6 desaturases may involve alterations to metabolism of specific polyunsaturated fatty acids especially in the tumor tissue.

Acyltransferases↗

Bioaccumulation of chlorpyrifos through an experimental food chain: study of protein HSP70 as biomarker of sublethal stress in fish.

The accumulation and transfer of the organophosphorus pesticide chlorpyrifos has been studied in an experimental aquatic two-level food chain using two species of the crustacean Artemia (A. franciscana and A. parthenogenetica) and the small fish Aphanius iberus. Artemia adults contaminated by exposure to the pesticide in water were used as live prey for Aphanius, the next trophic level. During the experimental bioaccumulation phase, fish were fed chlorpyrifos-contaminated Artemia pools with concentrations between 6.5 and 14.5 ng/g fresh weight for 32 days. Both concentrations accumulated in fish, and biomagnification factor (BMF) values showed a continuous decrease during the bioaccumulation phase, probably due to the physicochemical characteristics of the organophosphorus pesticide, to the biotransformation ability of fish and to the progressive adaptation of fish metabolism to toxic exposure. The first day that fish were fed uncontaminated preys, the pesticide accumulated via food was rapidly eliminated and was not detected. The effect of chlorpyrifos exposure through the food chain on stress protein (HSP70) synthesis was measured as a general biochemical response of stress in the fish (A. iberus). The levels of HSP70 were significantly higher in fish fed on contaminated Artemia than in the control fish fed on uncontaminated Artemia. Results showed that the HSP70 induction in fish could be associated to exposure of chlorpyrifos via food.

Animals↗

Bioaccumulation profiles of chemical contaminants in fish from the lower Willamette River, Portland Harbor, Oregon.

Twenty-five PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls), 15 organochlorine (OC) pesticides, and mercury were determined in fish from the Willamette River in Oregon, including a Portland Harbor superfund site. Fish were collected during the summer of 2000 along a 20-mile stretch of the lower Willamette River. Concentrations of sumPCBs (sum of 25 individually determined PCB congeners) and sumDDTs (sum of p,p'-DDT, p,p'-DDE, and p,p'-DDD) in fish ranged from 14 to 530 and from 18 to 510 ng/g-wet weight, respectively. SumPCBs concentrations at all sites exceeded US EPA fish advisory's screening values. Hexachlorobiphenyl congener 153 was the most abundant of the PCBs detected and p,p'-DDE was the most abundant OC pesticide detected. Low levels of dieldrin were detected in fish at all sites with the highest concentration at the superfund site (4.6 ng/g-wet weight), while other OC pesticides tested were near or below detection limits (approximately 2 ng/g). In general, organic chemical contaminant concentrations were highest in fish from the superfund site and were lower further upriver. Smallmouth bass had the highest levels of OC compounds of three fish species examined. They also had the largest site-to-site variations whereas black crappie had little variation throughout the study area. Mercury levels in fish ranged from 13 to 520 ng/g. Historical fish residue data are limited from the Portland Harbor superfund site, what data is available is over a decade old, generally consisted of only a few fish (< or = 3) and analyses quantified only a few PCB congeners (< 3).

Animals↗

Managing for desired experiences and site preferences: the case of fee-fishing anglers.

Fee-fishing involves paying a fee for the privilege of fishing a body of water where fish populations are enhanced by stocking fish. Past literature on this activity has focused more on the operation of the enterprise and management of the fish than the people and site characteristics. The objectives of the study were to profile anglers and describe their site/management preferences. This study utilized an on-site interview and mail-back questionnaire at fee-fishing establishments in West Virginia (n = 212). Factor analysis of desired recreation experiences yielded five factors: Experience nature & adventure, Stress release & relaxation, Trophy fishing, Escape, and Family time. Cluster analysis showed that these anglers can be segmented into two distinct clusters, differing by sociodemographic characteristics, fishing behavior, and site/management preferences. The findings from this study provide baseline data to aid public resource managers and fee-fishing business owners in determining how to provide satisfying outdoor experiences and deliver desired services on-site. Future research will be needed from additional fee-fishing sites to obtain more detail about this outdoor recreation cohort and be able to generalize to a larger population of participants.

Animals↗

Tadpoles' responses to risk of fish introduction.

The introduction of predatory species, such as fish, in amphibian breeding sites is one of the many likely causes of amphibian population decline. The existence of inducible or constitutive (permanent) defences is expected to temper the lethal effects of fish on tadpoles. According to current theories on the evolution of phenotypic plasticity, the amphibian species that occur in habitats that are mostly or often fish-free were expected to display inducible defences, while the species that reproduce mainly in fish ponds ought to present constitutive defences. The tested species were Rana dalmatina, Hyla arborea and R. ridibunda, respectively. As expected, R. ridibunda tadpoles were less vulnerable to fish predation than the other species. Nevertheless, all three species exhibited morphological responses in the presence of fish. Their increases in tail area and decreases in body depth were similar. However, behaviour was only modified in R. dalmatina, which exhibited lower activity rates and higher refuge use in the presence of fish cues. Such lower activity rates were related to lower growth and developmental rates. While not detected in this experiment, the existence of inducible defences in the three species suggests the existence of costs of anti-predator defence. Those costs may have delayed effects so that increasing the frequency of fish ponds may exacerbate the impact of delayed costs whatever the species, suggesting that the dynamics of species that are not fish-adverse could also suffer from the introduction of fish.

Adaptation, Physiological↗

Fish track wastewater pollution to estuaries.

Excess nitrogen is a forceful agent of ecological change in coastal waters, and wastewater is a prominent source of nitrogen. In catchments where multiple sources of nitrogen pollution co-exist, biological indicators are needed to gauge the degree to which wastewater-N can propagate through the receiving food webs. The purpose of this study was to test whether estuarine fish are suitable as indicators of sewage-N pollution. Fish were analysed from three estuaries within a 100-km strip on the Australian East Coast. The estuaries differ substantially in wastewater loading: (1) the Maroochy Estuary receives a large fraction of the local shire's treated sewage, (2) the Mooloolah Estuary has no licensed treated wastewater outfalls but marinas/harbours and storm-water may contribute nitrogen, and (3) the Noosa Estuary which neither receives licensed discharges nor has suspected wastewater loads. Sampling for fish included both high rainfall ('wet' season) and low rainfall ('dry' season) periods. Muscle-delta15N was the variable predicted to respond to treated wastewater loading, reflecting the relative enrichment in 15N resulting from the treatment process and distinguishing it from alternative N sources such as fertiliser and natural nitrogen inputs (both 15N-depleted). Of the 19 fish species occurring in all three estuaries, those from the Maroochy Estuary had significantly elevated delta15N values (up to 9.9 per thousand), and inter-estuarine differences in fish-delta15N were consistent across seasons. Furthermore, not only did all fish from the estuary receiving treated wastewater carry a very distinctive sewage-N tissue signal, but enriched muscle-delta15N was also evident in all species sampled from the one estuary in which sewage contamination was previously only suspected (i.e. the Mooloolah Estuary: 0.2-4.8 per thousand enrichment over fish from reference system). Thus, fish-delta15N is a suitable indicator of wastewater-N not only in systems that receive large loads, but also for the detection of more subtle nitrogen inputs. Arguably, fish may be preferred indicators of sewage-N contamination because they: (1) integrate nitrogen inputs over long time periods, (2) have an element of 'ecological relevance' because fish muscle-delta15N reflect movement of sewage-N through the food chain, and (3) pollution assessments can usually be based on evidence from multiple species.

Animals↗

Effect of fish oil and coconut oil diet on the LDL receptor activity of rat liver plasma membranes.

The influence of 4 weeks treatment with fish oil and coconut oil enriched diets on the chemical composition of rat liver plasma membranes and LDL and on the binding of LDL to liver membranes was investigated. Rats fed fish oil diet showed a total, LDL and HDL plasma cholesterol concentration lower than the values observed in rats fed coconut oil and to a lesser extent lower than those of rats fed standard laboratory diet. LDL of rats on fish oil diet had a relative percentage of cholesterol and phospholipid lower, while that of triacylglycerol was greater. Furthermore, fish oil feeding was associated with a greater concentration of n - 3 fatty acids and a lower arachidonic and linoleic acid content in LDL. Liver plasma membranes isolated from fish oil rats showed a higher percentage of n - 3 fatty acids, while only a trace amount of these fatty acids was found in control and coconut oil fed animals. In binding experiments performed with LDL and liver membranes from fish oil fed rats and control rats, binding affinity (Kd = 3.47 +/- 0.93 and 4.56 +/- 1.27, respectively) was significantly higher (P less than 0.05) as compared to that found using membranes and lipoprotein from coconut oil fed rats (Kd = 6.82 +/- 2.69). In cross-binding experiments performed with fish oil LDL and coconut oil liver plasma membranes or coconut oil LDL and fish oil liver plasma membranes, the LDL binding affinity was comparable and similar to that found in fish oil fed animals. No difference was found in the Bmax among all the groups of binding experiments. Our data seem to indicate that during fish oil diet the higher binding affinity of LDL to liver plasma membranes might be partly responsible of the hypocholesterolemic action of marine oil rich diet as compared to saturated diet. Furthermore, the modifications of binding affinity induced by changes of LDL and membrane source, suggest that lipoprotein and liver plasma membrane composition may be an important variable in binding studies.

Animals↗

Reversibility of the effects of dietary fish oil on the fatty acid composition of the brain and retina of growing chicks.

Dietary fish oil increases levels of (n-3) fatty acids in the brain and retina of younger animals but has less effect in adults. The duration of the effects of fish oil in young animals, as well as the extent of reversibility of the effects, are unknown. Laying hens were fed either a fish oil diet or a soybean oil-based control diet. Resulting chicks were assigned to three diet groups: chicks from fish oil and soybean oil hens were continued on fish oil and soybean oil diets, respectively, for 0, 3, 6, or 9 weeks, and additional chicks from the fish oil hens were fed the fish oil diet for 0, 3, or 6 weeks and then reversed to the soybean oil diet for a period of 3 weeks. The fatty acid composition of the brain, retina, liver, and serum of the reversal chicks was compared with chicks fed the fish oil diet only or the soybean oil diet only. Brain levels of docosahexaenoic acid (22:6(n-3)) decreased substantially when reversal from the fish oil diet to the control diet was begun at hatching, but did not decrease when reversal was begun at later times. Other (n-3) fatty acids in the brain, docosapentaenoic acid (22:5(n-3)) and eicosapentaenoic acid (20:5(n-3)), decreased substantially at all ages, and to a greater extent than 22:6(n-3). Brain arachidonic acid (20:4(n-6)), which was low in fish oil chicks, rose to control after reversal at hatching, but recovered only partially when reversal was begun at later times. A similar patterns was observed in the retina. Serum and liver (n-3) fatty acids fell to control in all reversal chicks, and (n-6) fatty acids increased to control, except in chicks reversed at 6 weeks. This study demonstrates that by 3 weeks of age the chick brain strongly resists diet-induced lowering of high levels of 22:6(n-3).

Analysis of Variance↗

Ontogenetical aspects of nutritional requirements in fish.

Changes in morphology i.e. "metamorphosis", mode of respiration, allometric growth of organs, mode of swimming and efficiency of biochemical pathways are briefly reviewed. It is suggested that these processes form the basis for progressive changes in nutrient requirements involving formation and development of several organs, systems and function. Digestive tract morphology changes during ontogenesis and aspects of fish metabolism, protein synthesis rate and body growth rate are interconnected and an attempt is made to explain these processes so as to understand the specificity of larval and juvenile fish nutrient requirements as compared to subadults. Protein and amino acid requirements given the body mass perspective and the generalization of the protein maintenance requirement in protein requirements for maximum growth was estimated to amount to 5-20%. Several cases of amino acid deficiency symptoms showed strong dependence on fish weight (age), but even most numerous studies on salmonids are lacking complete research throughout the life history of one species in defined nutritional and environmental conditions. Larval and juvenile fish have reduced capacity of catabolic adaptability and this fact links them to strictly carnivorous mammals. An attempt is made, for the first time, to relate amino acid needs of fish to young and/or carnivorous mammals. Vitamin requirements of fish are reviewed, taking into account the relationship between body size and time of the first appearance of deficiency symptoms. These are virtually no studies on vitamin requirements in larval warm-water fishes and very few on first feeding salmonids. The same applies to the vitamin need in reproductory fish. Fatty acid deficiencies manifest themselves faster in juvenile fish, but larval fish might require separate classes of lipids, phosphatidylcholine, in the diet to develop and grow at all. It seems that the studies on nutrient requirements have so far not used an ontogenetical perspective, but evidence given throughout this work argues that it would be worthwhile.

Aging↗

N-nitrosodimethylamine and 7-methylguanine DNA adducts in tissues of rats fed Chinese salted fish.

Previous studies have demonstrated that rats fed Chinese salted fish developed carcinomas of the nasopharynx and nasal cavity. In the present work the contents of nitrosamines in salted fish from the city of Guangzhou, southern China, and the contents of nitrosamines and possible nitrosamine-induced DNA adducts in organs of rats fed the fish were analysed. Similar levels of N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) were detected in tough and soft salted fish. The NDMA content in steamed fish was higher than in raw fish. In vitro incubation of salted fish with gastric juice significantly increased the level of NDMA. NDMA was found in liver and kidney from rats fed salted fish for 2 years, but no dose-dependence was found between salted fish treatment and NDMA content. The level of 7-methylguanine in rat liver DNA was found to be slightly higher than in DNA from nasopharynx. However, there were no significant differences in the level of 7-methylguanine in DNA samples from rats fed salted fish and rats fed standard diet.

Animals↗

Dietary fish oil prevents vascular dysfunction and oxidative stress in hyperinsulinemic rats.

BACKGROUND: Fish oil has been shown to improve blood pressure (BP) in some disease states by an unknown mechanism. We tested the ability of fish oil to prevent vascular dysfunction in fructose-fed rats, a model of insulin resistance and hypertension. METHODS: Rats were placed on three diets: 1) regular rat diet (control); 2) diet containing 60% fructose (FFR); or 3) diet containing 60% fructose and 4.4% fish oil (FFR+FO). After 8 weeks, blood, heart, aorta, and mesenteric artery tissue were collected from each animal. Secondary branch segments of mesenteric arteries were isolated for vascular reactivity studies. RESULTS: Systolic BP increased significantly in the FFR but was reduced to control levels by the addition of fish oil to the diet. In the mesenteric artery segments from FFR, the dose-response curves to acetylcholine were significantly shifted to the right compared with those of control rats and rats on the fish oil diet. Expression of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) protein and mRNA was reduced in the FFR aortas and hearts, and this reduction was reversed by the fish oil. Dietary fish oil prevented the hyperlipidemia that occurred in the FFR but did not prevent hyperinsulinemia. Plasma concentrations of hydrogen peroxide, 8-isoprostane, and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 were significantly elevated in the FFR and were significantly lower in the FFR treated with fish oil. CONCLUSIONS: These results demonstrate that dietary fish oil prevents vascular dysfunction in FFR and that this effect of fish oil is associated with increased eNOS expression and decreased oxidative stress.

Acetylcholine↗