Environmental pollution is a current area of focus worldwide, particularly heavy metal pollution. Feasible prevention or therapeutic strategies are required. Exploration of the correlation between ω‑3 polyunsaturated fatty acids  (ω‑3 PUFAs) and intestinal epithelial cells injured by heavy metals may be of significance for intestinal health. In the present study, the effects of ω‑3 PUFAs on the rat intestinal crypt cell line (IEC‑6) injured by heavy metals and its mechanisms were determined according to the evaluation of cell viability and expression levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS), epidermal growth factor (EGF) and interleukin‑6 (IL‑6). The results demonstrated that ω‑3 PUFAs can improve the viability of IEC‑6 cells injured by heavy metals and the expression level of ROS was correlated with oxidative damage; the increased expression level of inflammatory factors is associated with cell apoptosis. In the present study, ω‑3 PUFAs significantly decreased the expression levels of ROS, EGF and IL‑6. This indicates that the protective action of ω‑3 PUFAs was associated with a decrease of oxidative damage and pro‑inflammatory cytokine expression against the damage of heavy metals.

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