Rao Shobha, Joshi Sadhana, Kale Anvita, Hegde Mahabaleshwar, Mahadik Sahebarao
Biometry and Nutrition Unit, Agharkar Research Institute, Pune 411004, India.
Metabolism. 2006 May;55(5):628-34. doi: 10.1016/j.metabol.2005.12.008.
Studies on fetal programming of adult diseases have highlighted the importance of maternal nutrition during pregnancy. Folic acid and long-chain essential polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFAs) have independent effects on fetal growth. However, folic acid effects may also involve alteration of LC-PUFA metabolism. Because marginal deficiency of LC-PUFAs during critical periods of brain growth and development is associated with risks for adult diseases, it is highly relevant to investigate how maternal supplementation of such nutrients can alter brain fatty acid levels. We examined the impact of folic acid supplementation, conventionally used in maternal intervention, on brain essential fatty acid levels and plasma corticosterone concentrations in adult offspring at 11 months of age. Pregnant female rats from 4 groups (6 in each) were fed with casein diets either with 18 g protein/100 g diet (control diet) or treatment diets that were marginal in protein (MP), such as 12 g protein/100 g diet supplemented with 8 mg folic acid (FAS/MP), 12 g protein/100 g diet without folic acid (FAD/MP), or 12 g protein/100 g diet (MP) with 2 mg folic acid. Pups were weaned to a standard laboratory diet with 18 g protein/100 g diet. All male adult offspring in the FAS/MP group showed lower docosahexaenoic acid (P<.05) as compared with control adult offspring (6.04+/-2.28 vs 10.33+/-0.86 g/100 g fatty acids) and higher n-6/n-3 ratio (P<.05). Docosahexaenoic acid levels in FAS/MP adult offspring were also lower (P<.05) when compared with the MP group. Plasma corticosterone concentrations were higher (P<.05) in male adult offspring from the FAS/MP group compared with control as well as the MP adult offspring. Results suggest that maternal folic acid supplementation at MP intake decreased brain docosahexaenoic acid levels probably involving corticosterone increase.
关于成人疾病的胎儿编程研究突出了孕期母体营养的重要性。叶酸和长链必需多不饱和脂肪酸（LC-PUFA）对胎儿生长有独立影响。然而，叶酸的作用可能也涉及LC-PUFA代谢的改变。由于在大脑生长发育的关键时期LC-PUFA的边缘性缺乏与成人疾病风险相关，因此研究母体补充此类营养素如何改变大脑脂肪酸水平具有高度相关性。我们研究了母体干预中常用的叶酸补充对11月龄成年子代大脑必需脂肪酸水平和血浆皮质酮浓度的影响。将4组（每组6只）怀孕的雌性大鼠分别喂食酪蛋白饮食，一种是蛋白质含量为18 g/100 g饮食的对照饮食，另一种是蛋白质含量处于边缘水平（MP）的治疗饮食，例如蛋白质含量为12 g/100 g饮食并补充8 mg叶酸（FAS/MP）、蛋白质含量为12 g/100 g饮食且无叶酸（FAD/MP），或蛋白质含量为12 g/100 g饮食（MP）并添加2 mg叶酸。幼崽断奶后喂食蛋白质含量为18 g/100 g饮食的标准实验室饮食。与对照成年子代相比，FAS/MP组的所有雄性成年子代均表现出较低的二十二碳六烯酸（P<0.05）（分别为6.04±2.28 vs 10.33±0.86 g/100 g脂肪酸）和较高的n-6/n-3比值（P<0.05）。与MP组相比，FAS/MP成年子代的二十二碳六烯酸水平也较低（P<0.05）。与对照成年子代以及MP成年子代相比，FAS/MP组雄性成年子代的血浆皮质酮浓度更高（P<0.05）。结果表明，在MP摄入量下母体补充叶酸会降低大脑二十二碳六烯酸水平，这可能与皮质酮增加有关。
