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ARS Home » Plains Area » Grand Forks, North Dakota » Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center » Healthy Body Weight Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #156205
Title: DIETARY BORON MODIFIES THE EFFECT OF CHANGING DIETARY FATTY ACID COMPOSITION ON RAT BEHAVIOR AND EYE MITOCHONDRIAL MORPHOLOGY

Author
item Nielsen, Forrest
item Penland, James
item Newman Jr, Samuel

Submitted to: Journal of Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/1/2003
Publication Date: 3/24/2004
Citation: Nielsen, F.H., Penland, J.G., Newman Jr, S.M. 2004. Dietary boron modifies the effect of changing dietary fatty acid composition on rat behavior and eye mitochondrial morphology [abstract]. The Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology Journal. 18(4):A491.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Female and male Sprague-Dawley rats were fed diets containing about 70 ug boron (B)/kg in a factorial arrangement with variables being supplemental B at 0 (deficient) and 3 (adequate) mg/kg and canola oil (CO) or palm oil (PO) at 75 g/kg. After 5 wks, 6 females per treatment were bred. Pup diets were the same as their mothers. At age 5 wks, the ultrastructure of eyes of 6 pups in each treatment was examined by transmission electron microscopy. At age 12 wks, 12 males and 12 females in each treatment underwent behavioral testing; after which the fragilities of their erythrocytes were determined. Compared to the other 3 groups, the rats fed the B-adequate diet with CO had less rod inner segment mitochondria with a high abundance of cristal folds. Rats fed the B-adequate diet with PO had the lowest number of hydropic (swollen) mitochondria. CO compared to PO decreased exploratory behavior and increased behavioral anxiety in B-adequate rats. In B-deficient rats, CO compared to PO decreased erythrocyte fragility; in B-adequate rats, CO increased fragility. Because the mitochondrion is the major site of fatty acid metabolism, hydropsis indicates the influx of water through the mitochondrion membrane, and erythrocyte fragility is a proxy for brain membrane phospholipid composition, the findings support the hypothesis that changes in mitochondrial membrane lipid metabolism may be the basis for neurological effects of B deprivation.