THE EFFECT OF THE ADDITION OF OIL PREPARATION WITH INCREASED CONTENT OF N-3 FATTY-ACIDS ON SERUM-LIPID PROFILE AND CLINICAL CONDITION OF CATS WITH MILIARY DERMATITIS
R. Lechowski et al., THE EFFECT OF THE ADDITION OF OIL PREPARATION WITH INCREASED CONTENT OF N-3 FATTY-ACIDS ON SERUM-LIPID PROFILE AND CLINICAL CONDITION OF CATS WITH MILIARY DERMATITIS, Journal of veterinary medicine. Series A, 45(6-7), 1998, pp. 417-424
The aim of this study was to determine the influence of an oil prepara
tion with increased n-3 fatty acids content on the serum lipid profile
and clinical condition of cats with miliary dermatitis. The studies w
ere performed on 22 cats of various breeds and both sexes, aged betwee
n 3 and 7 years, that had been fed a balanced diet, based on beef meat
for the previous 6 months. The animals were divided into four groups:
I, five clinically healthy cars; II, five clinically healthy cats, re
ceiving 1 ml of oil preparation with food for 6 weeks; III, seven nonp
ruritic cats with miliary dermatitis, without treatment; and group IV,
live nonpruritic cats with miliary dermatitis, receiving 1 mi of oil
preparation per day with food for 6 weeks. Every 2 weeks all cats were
clinically examined. Determination of die serum lipid profile and com
position of the oil preparation was performed using gas chromatography
. The concentration of total cholesterol (CHL), high-density lipoprote
in (HDL) fraction and triacylglycerols (TG) were determined spec troph
otometrically. In three sick animals, the dermatological signs disappe
ared completely. In cats with miliary dermatitis, who did not receive
the oil preparation, the ratio of cholesterol and HDL to triacylglycer
ols was reversed compared with healthy cats and sick animals which had
received the oil preparation The addition of the oil preparation lowe
red the content of saturated fatty acids in serum, in particular palmi
tic acid, and increased the content of unsaturated acids, linolenic, e
icosapentaenoic (EPA, n-3) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, n-3). Simult
aneously, a nonsignificant rise in arachidonic acid (AA, n-6) and a de
crease in dihomo-gamma-linolenic acid (DGLA, n-6) were found. These ob
servations indicate that cats with miliary dermatitis require an incre
ased amount of n-3 fatty acids in the diet. This was proved not only b
y the observed changes in the serum lipid profile but also by the clin
ical improvement.