DHA-rich fish oil and Tualang honey reduce chronic stress-induced oxidative damage in the brain of rat model

Exposure to chronic stress induces oxidative damage which alters the dynamic balance between antioxidant and pro-oxidant activities in the brain. Tualang honey (TH) is a Malaysian wild multifloral honey which has been shown to contain high amount antioxidants. DHA-rich fish oil is a form of omega-3 fatty acids found in fish which also possesses some antioxidant activity. This study aimed to evaluate anti-stress activity of DHA-rich fish oil, TH and their combination on several parameters of oxidative stress in chronic stress rat model.

Both DHA-rich fish oil and TH have protective effects against brain oxidative stress but consuming these substances together does not seem to provide an additional benefit compared to consuming them separately.

Fifty male Sprague Dawley rats were divided into (i) control, (ii) stress-exposed, (iii) stress-exposed and treated with TH (1 g/kg body weight twice daily), (iv) stress-exposed and treated with DHA-rich fish oil (450 mg/kg body weight twice daily), and (v) stress-exposed and treated with a combination of TH and DHA-rich fish oil. The chronic stress regimen consisted of a combination of restraint stress and a swim stress test for 28 days.

DHA-rich fish oil and TH significantly (p < 0.05) supressed stress-induced elevation of serum corticosterone and lipid peroxidation, and caused a significant increase in total antioxidant capacity. For glutathione status, only TH significantly reduced stress-induced elevation of oxidised glutathione (GSSG) and normalised GSH/GSSG ratio.