In the first experiment, male Wistar rats were injected s.c. with 200, 300, 400 or 600 mg/kg of DHA, or 400 mg/kg oleic acid (OA, isocaloric control), and seizure tested with the maximal PTZ test 1 h post injection (Experiment 1). In a second experiment, subjects received either: (1) an effective dose of DHA (400 mg/kg), (2) a higher, non-effective dose (600 mg/kg; based on the findings of Experiment 1), or (3) OA (400 mg/kg). Subjects were sacrificed 1 h post injection and blood was collected for fatty acid analysis (Experiment 2). In the third experiment, subjects were injected with either the effective dose of DHA (400 mg/kg) or OA (400 mg/kg). One hour post lipid injection, animals received either PTZ or saline, and animals were euthanized via microwave fixation. Brain were extracted and unesterified fatty acid concentrations were measured (Experiment 3).
Experiment 1 confirmed that DHA loses its effects at higher doses in the maximal PTZ test. The 400 mg/kg dose was maximally effective but effects were lost at 600 mg/kg. Experiment 2 showed that only the unesterified DHA pool in serum was statistically increased by an acute injection of s.c. DHA (P < 0.05, as compared to OA), whereas esterified DHA pools were unchanged (P > 0.05). Curiously, unesterified DHA levels were similar in both the 400 mg/kg and 600 mg/kg dosage groups. Experiment 3 showed that an anticonvulsant dose of DHA (400 mg/kg) did not increase DHA release from brain phospholipids following seizure induction (P > 0.05).
In conclusion, DHA has anticonvulsant properties when injected s.c., but these properties are lost at higher doses. The anticonvulsant effects of DHA are accompanied by increased levels of unesterified DHA in the serum, but not in increased DHA release from brain phospholipids.