Effect of dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids and Vitamin E on serum oxidative status in horses performing very light exercise

In sporting horses the use of dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) could enhance performance because these fatty acids are very important in membrane permeability, and in particular they seem to increase the possibility of long chain fatty acids entering mythochondria to be burnt. The composition of cellular membranes and lipoprotein fatty acids composition is strictly related to dietary fat quality; percentages of polyunsaturated fatty acids and amount of antioxidants also affect tissue susceptibility to lipid peroxidation.Six horses were used in a latin square design in which three homogeneous groups were subsequently assigned three different dietary treatments for one month each:Control group (C): basic diet; Oil group (O): Basic diet + 200g/day oil rich in PUFAs (Crossential GLA TG20, Croda ®); Vitamin E group (O+E): basic diet + 200 g/day oil rich in PUFAs (Crossential GLA TG20, Croda ®) + 5 g/day α-toco-pheryl-acetate (Egon-E, Acme ®). At the end of each experimental period blood samples were taken by jugular vein puncture. Serum oxidative status was evaluated by TBARs and d-ROMs assessment. Oxidative markers showed the highest mean values for the oil group, even if no statistically significant differences were found.