Functional and electrophysiologic effects of polyunsaturated fatty acids on excitable tissues: heart and brain

It has been shown in animals and probably in humans, that n-3 polyunsaturat ed fatty acids (PUFAs) are antiarrhythmic. The free PUFAs stabilize the ele ctrical activity of isolated cardiac myocytes by inhibiting sarcolemmal ion channels, so that a stronger electrical stimulus is required to elicit an action potential and the relative refractory period is markedly prolonged, This appears at present to be the probable major antiarrhythmic mechanism o f the PUFAs. They similarly inhibit the Na+ and Ca2+ currents in rat hippoc ampal neurons which results in an increase in the electrical threshold for generalized seizures using the cortical stimulation model in rats.