Maternal consumption of ɷ3 attenuates metabolic disruption elicited by saturated fatty acids-enriched diet in offspring rats.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

High-fat diet (HFD) intake during gestation and lactation has been associated with an increased risk of developing cardiometabolic disorders in adult offspring. We investigated whether metabolic alterations resulting from the maternal consumption of HFD are prevented by the addition of omega-3 (ɷ3) in the diet.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Wistar rat dams were fed a control (C: 19% of lipids and ɷ6:ɷ3 = 12), HF (HF: 33% lipids and ɷ6:ɷ3 = 21), or HF enriched with ɷ3 (HFω3: 33% lipids and ɷ6:ɷ3 = 9) diet during gestation and lactation, and their offspring food consumption, murinometric measurements, serum levels of metabolic markers, insulin and pyruvate sensitivity tests were evaluated. The maternal HFD increased body weight at birth, dyslipidemia, and elevated fasting glucose levels in the HF group. The enrichment of ɷ3 in the maternal HFD led to lower birth weight and improved lipid, glycemic, and transaminase biochemical profile of the HFω3 group until the beginning of adulthood. However, at later adulthood of the offspring, there was no improvement in these biochemical parameters.

CONCLUSION

Our findings show the maternal consumption of high-fat ɷ3-rich diet is able to attenuate or prevent metabolic disruption elicited by HFD in offspring until 90 days old, but not in the long term, as observed at 300 days old of the offspring.