Background: Increased oxidative stress following maternal hypoxia is an important mechanism for postpartum motor response impairment. Because of the fact that the use of supplements such as omega-3 fatty acids has a protective role for the nervous system, in this study, the protective mechanism of fish oil during pregnancy stress by the hypoxia model on the motor coordination of male rat offspring was investigated.
Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, pregnant female rat (Wistar) were randomly divided into five experimental groups: control (without treatment), sham (saline recipient), hypoxia (%10 O2, %90 N2, 6 to 15 days of pregnancy), fish oil (1 ml), and hypoxia group treated with fish oil. To study the protective mechanism of fish oil, serum sampling of mothers and offspring was done to measure oxidative stress indicators. Motor activity and balance were examined in the 30-day-old offspring by open field and rotarod tests. Data were statistically assessed by one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey post-hoc test.
Results: While fish oil treatment increased motor activity in the fish oil/hypoxia group compared to the hypoxia group and decreased oxidative stress (P<0.05), motor and oxidative stress parameters decreased and increased in hypoxia group compared to the sham group, respectively.
Conclusion: According to the results, fish oil treatment during chronic maternal hypoxia can improved motor activity and balance by reducing oxidative stress caused by hypoxia.