Antidepressant and Anxiolytic Effects of Cod Liver Oil in Rats

Cod-liver oil is a rich source of omega 3 fatty acids and has been widely used as omega 3 fatty acids supplementation. Regarding omega-3 fatty acid beneficial effects in humans, this study was designed to investigate the effect of repeated administration of cod-liver oil on the locomotion and behaviors of rats, including depression, anxiety and the 5-Hydroxy tryptamine (5-HT) metabolism. After four weeks oral administration of cod-liver oil, open field test was used to measure the locomotor and exploratory activity. Elevated plus maze test was used to measure anxiety. Cod-liver oil significantly increased locomotion and produced anxiolytic effects in rats. Antidepressant effect of cod-liver oil was monitored by forced swim test (FST) in which struggling time of test animals was increased significantly. 5-HT turnover also increased significantly following the oral repeated administration of cod liver oil in test animals. The results suggest that cod-liver oil has antidepressant and anti-anxiety effects.