Effect of taurine on toxicity of oxidized fish oil in rats

An attempt was made to study the effect of dietary taurine on the toxicity of oxidized fish oil in male Wistar rats. The rats were fed different diets with or without supplement of 5% taurine and 3% oxidized fish oil. After feeding diet with 3% oxidized fish oil and 5% taurine at the same time, taurine could improve the decrease of body weight and the glutathione (GSH) Level in the liver, and the increase of relative ratios of liver and kidney weight to body weight and thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS) level in the liver of rats caused by oxidized fish oil. It also could reduce the activities of aspartate transaminase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) in the plasma of rats caused by oxidized fish oil. It was also found that taurine possessed a good recovering effect and a short-term preventing effect from the toxicity of oxidized fish oil in rats. Judging from these data, this indicates that taurine may play an important role in reducing the toxic effect of oxidized fish oil in rats. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.