  We have studied the vector meson spectral function (VMSF) in a hot and dense
medium within an effective QCD model namely the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio (NJL) and
its Polyakov Loop extended version (PNJL) with and without the effect of
isoscalar vector interaction (IVI). The effect of the IVI has been taken into
account using the ring approximation. We obtained the dilepton production rate
(DPR) using the VMSF and observed that at moderate temperature it is enhanced
in the PNJL model as compared to the NJL and Born rate due to the suppression
of color degrees of freedom.
