Artificial rearing of infant rats on milk formula deficient in n-3 essential fatty acids: a rapid method for the production of experimental n-3 deficiency.

Research into the function of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; 22:6n-3), the predominant polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) in the central nervous system (CNS), is often hindered by the difficulty in obtaining dramatic experimental decreases in DHA in the brain and retina of laboratory rats. In this study, the artificial rearing procedure, whereby infant rats are removed from their mothers, gastrostomized, and fed synthetic formula, was used in an attempt to produce rapid changes in CNS levels of DHA. Female rats were raised, from day 4-5 of life, on one of two formulas-one containing the essential fatty acids of both the n-6 and n-3 series in proportions approximately equal to those of rat milk, and the other containing high levels of 18:2n-6 but very little n-3 fatty acid. At weaning, both groups were given AIN-76A diets modified so that the PUFA content resembled that of the preweaning formula. At eight weeks of age, the n-3-deficient group exhibited decreases of more than 50% in total DHA content in the brain, accompanied by increases in arachidonic acid (AA) (20:4n-6) and, especially, docosapentaenoic acid (22:5n-6). Other artificially-reared rats were mated and their offspring were also maintained on the respective diets. In spite of the fact that they had been reared artificially, the rats mated successfully and reared litters with no obvious abnormalities. At both ten days of age and again at eight weeks, offspring of the n-3-deficient mothers exhibited decreases of more than 90% in total DHA content. Again, the long-chain n-6 PUFA increased proportionately so that total PUFA levels in the brain were not lower. As these differences are greater than those commonly reported, even after 2-3 generations of normal dietary deprivation in rodents, this procedure may be an important tool in the study of the effects of n-3 deficiency on neural development and, subsequently, of the function of DHA in nervous tissue.