Dietary supplementation with n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids attenuates the depression of food-motivated behavior during zymosan-induced peritonitis

Peripheral inflammation is accompanied by neurobehavioral alterations such as depression of feeding, exploratory and sexual behaviors. Our previous investigation reported that dietary enrichment with n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) attenuated the depression of food-motivated behavior and social exploration, but not endocrinological and metabolic disturbances in the mice with systemic inflammation induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). We here demonstrate that dietary n-3 PUFA also attenuate the reduction of food-motivated behavior during zymosan-induced peritonitis in mice without influencing plasma leakage into peritoneum and writhing response. Our results suggest that the common mechanism is involved in the attenuation of behavioral depression during systemic and local inflammation by dietary n-3 PUFA.