ARS | Publication request: Dietary Boron Alters Blood Cellular Composition and Characteristics and Cholesterol Responses of Rats to Differences in the Omega-3 Fatty Acid Content of the Diet

Submitted to: Journal of Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: December 1, 2001
Publication Date: March 20, 2002
Citation: Nielsen, F.H. 2002. Dietary boron alters blood cellular composition and characteristics and cholesterol responses of rats to differences in the omega-3 fatty acid content of the diet [abstract]. The Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology Journal. 16:A995.

Technical Abstract: Changes in dietary boron and omega-3 fatty acids reportedly affect similar systems in animals. Thus, female and male Sprague-Dawley rats were fed diets containing about 70 ug B/kg in a factorial arrangement with supplemental boron at 0 and 3 mg/kg and canola or palm oil at 75 g/kg as variables. After 5 weeks, 6 females per treatment were bred. Dams and pups scontinued on their respective diets though gestation, lactation, and subsequent to weaning. At 13 weeks after weaning, an interaction between boron and dietary fat source affected a number of variables including % lymphocytes, % monocytes, % basophils, red blood cell number, mean corpuscular volume and hemoglobin, % red blood cells hemolyzed in 0.4% NaCl, mean platelet volume, platelet distribution width, blood urea nitrogen, and plasma cholesterol, glucose and alkaline phosphatase (n=12 for each treatment). The results support the hypothesis that boron and omega-3 fatty acids interact at the cell membrane level to affect the immune system, lipid metabolism, and platelet physiology.