Aim:
Experimental justification for using omega-3 fatty acids to correct the effects of free radical oxidation in the brains of rats with lead poisoning.

Material and methods:
Experiments were conducted on 24 nonlinear male rats at the age of 3-4 months. Lead intoxication was performed in 16 rats by intragastric administration of plumbum (II) acetate. Part of the animals (n=8) that were given lead intoxication, intragastrically introduced omega-3 fatty acids. Microscopic examination of the cerebral cortex was performed using an Olympus BX-41 light microscope.

Results:
Under the condition of lead intoxication, neurocytes of the molecular, outer granular, and pyramid layers had signs of extracellular oedema. The areas of significant haemorrhage in all layers of the cerebral cortex were observed. With correction by omega-3 fatty acids, the microscopic structure of the blood vessel wall was restored. Under the influence of lead, SOD and catalase slowed down the utilisation of hydrogen peroxide, compared to the control group, which mostly normalised with the correction of omega-3 fatty acids.

Conclusions:
Thus, studies have shown that under the condition of lead intoxication at a dose of 7.5 mg/ kg body weight for 14 days, histological examination revealed disorders of the cerebral cortex cytoarchitectonics and damage to the structure of the blood vessel walls. With the correction of lead intoxication by omega-3 fatty acids at a dose of 750 mg/kg body weight within 14 days, improvements were noted in the histostructure of the experimental animals’ cerebral cortex.