Dose-response effect of docosahexaenoic acid ethyl ester on maze behavior and brain fatty acid composition in adult mice

The dose-response effect of dietary docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6 n-3) ethyl ester (EE) on maze-learning ability in mice was studied. Male Crj:CD-I mice aged three months were fed a) a diet containing 5 g palm oil/100 g diet (control group). b) a diet containing 0.5 g DHA ethyl ester/100 g diet plus 4.5 g palm oil/100 g diet (DHA-EE 0.5% group); c) a diet containing 1 g DHA ethyl ester/100 g diet plus 4g palm oil/100 g diet (DHA-EE 1% group); d) a diet containing 2 g DHA ethyl ester/100 g diet plus 3 g palm oil/100 g diet (DHA-EE 2% group) for four months. Maze-learning ability was assessed three months after the start of the experiment. The time required to reach the maze exit and the number of times that a mouse strayed into blind alleys in the maze were measured in three trials, performed every four days. In trial 1, the DHA-EE 0.5%, 1% and 2% groups required less (p < 0.05) time to reach the maze exit, and the DHA-EE 2% group strayed (p < 0.05) into blind alleys fewer times than the control group, In trial 3 performed four days after the second trial, the DHA-EE 2% group needed less (p < 0.05) time to find the exit and spent a fewer (p < 0.05) number of times in blind alleys than did the control group. In the total lipids of plasma and brain of mice fed DHA. increasing intakes of DHA resulted in an increase in DHA levels, with a corresponding decrease in arachidonic acid (20:4 n-6). Improved maze-learning ability in mice fed DHA-EE 2% was associated with higher DHA levels in brain. Our results suggest that there are no linear dose-response effects of DHA on maze-learning ability, however, the intake of DHA-EE 2% diet improves learning ability in adult mice as demonstrated by maze performance.