Combined effects of vitamin E and omega-3 fatty acids on protecting ambient PM-induced cardiovascular injury in rats.

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to observe whether the combined treatment with vitamin E (vit E) and omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (Ω-3 FA) could prevent the fine particulate matter (PM)-induced cardiovascular injury through alleviating inflammation and oxidative stress. At the same time, the appropriate combination dosage of vit E and Ω-3 FA was explored to find an optimized protective dose to protect the injury induced by PM.

METHODS

The SD rats were pretreated with different concentration of vit E and Ω-3 FA separately or jointly. Then the rats were exposed to ambient PM by intratracheal instillation for three times. The expression of tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), interleukin-6 (IL-6) in serum and supernatant of cardiac tissue were detected by ELISA kits. The levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide Dismutase (SOD) and glutathione-peroxidase (GSH-Px) in myocardium and the level of MDA in serum were measured. Meanwhile, the cardiac injury was evaluated by histopathological examination.

RESULTS

Compared with the severe injury of rats in PM exposure group, the rats in vit E or Ω-3 FA-pretreated groups had a slighter injury in heart. Meanwhile, pretreatment with vit E or Ω-3 FA induced a significantly alleviation of the inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6) and the elevation of the anti-oxidative activity especially in the rats pretreated with combined vit E and Ω-3 FA. In addition, the combined protecting effects of vit E and Ω-3 FA showed a dose-dependent manner.

CONCLUSION

Supplementation with vit E and Ω-3 FA could protect the PM-induced injury, and the combination of vit E and Ω-3 FA might produce more effective effects than the separate nutrient did.