OXIDATIVE EFFECTS OF DIFFERENT DIETARY FATS ON MOUSE DNA DETECTED BY COMET ASSAY

Here we report on the introduction of the Comet assay for the in vivo testing of oxidative effects of different polyunsaturated dietary fats on mouse nuclear DNA. Five groups of mice were fed with the diet of the same composition but with different fat supplementation: 1st group - oleic acid rich sunflower oil, 2nd group - sunflower oil, 3rd gruop - rape oil, 4th group - lard, 5thgroup - control group. Fats with different degrees of unsaturation have caused different degrees of mice DNA damage. The highest degree of DNA damage (2.72) was found in the group fed with oleic acid rich sunflower oil. The lowest degree of DNA damage was found in the control group. The results obtained indicate that Comet assay is sensitive enough to differentiate the quality of nutritional fats from the view of free radicals formation.