| ORIGINAL ARTICLE |
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| Year : 2012 | Volume
: 6
| Issue : 1 | Page : 1-4 |
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Omega-3 fatty acids improve psychomotor performance via mechanism not related to nitric acid production
Marwan S. M. Al-Nimer, Ali I Al-Gareeb, Hayder M Al-Kuraishy
Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, Al-Mustansiriya University, P.O. Box 14132, Baghdad, Iraq
Correspondence Address:
Marwan S. M. Al-Nimer
Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, Al-Mustansiriya University, P.O. Box 14132, Baghdad
Iraq
DOI: 10.4103/0973-8258.97102
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Omega-3 fatty acids (ω-3FAs) are essential polyunsaturated fats that protect the brain from cognitive impairment. It increases the activity of endothelial nitric oxide synthetase (eNOS) and thereby increases the nitric acid (NO) production. This study aimed to explore the effect of ω-3FAs on psychomotor performance and to relate this effect to the reactive nitrogen species. This study was conducted in Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, Al-Mustansiriya University in Baghdad, Iraq. Twenty healthy subjects, allocated randomly from medical college students, were participated in the single blind clinical trial. Participants were divided into two groups, each of ten subjects to receive either placebo or (ω-3FAs) (750 mg single oral dose daily for 5 days). They were asked to perform psychomotor performance before and after 5 days of treatment, and venous blood was obtained for determination of serum nitric oxide (NO) and peroxynitrite (ONOO). ω-3FAs treated group was significantly different from placebo-treated group in reducing choice and motor reaction times as well as the critical flicker frequency threshold. The serum levels of NO and ONOO in ω-3FAs-treated group did not significantly differ from placebo-treated group. Short term supplementation of ω-3FAs improves the psychomotor performance in young healthy subjects via a mechanism not related to the production of nitric oxide production. Inflorescence is a panicle few flowered and fruit is a capsule. The data of the results obtained were presented and discussed. |
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