Abstract
BackgroundAlpha linolenic acid (ALA, 18:3) in maternal diets has been shown to attenuate obesity associated insulin resistance (IR) in adult offspring in mice. The objective in the present study was to detect the early effects of maternal dietary saturated fatty acids (SFA) and their partial substitution with ω-3 ALA, docosa hexenoic acid (DHA,22:6) and eicosapentenoic acid 20:5 (EPA,20:5) on the HOMA index, liver lipids and fatty acid desaturases in the offspring at weaning.Methods3 month old C57Bl6/J female mice were fed diets containing normal amount of calories but rich in SFA alone or partially replaced with ALA, DHA or EPA before mating, during pregnancy and lactation.ResultsPregnant mice fed SFA produced offspring with the highest HOMA index, liver lipids and desaturase activities. ALA prevented SFA induced lipid increase but DHA and EPA only reduced it by 42% and 31% respectively. ALA, DHA and EPA decreased HOMA index by 84%, 75% and 83% respectively. ALA, DHA and EPA decreased Δ6 and SCD1 desaturase activities about 30%.ConclusionsSFA feeding to mothers predisposes their offspring to develop IR and liver lipid accumulation already at weaning. ω3 fatty acids reduce IR, ALA halts lipid accumulation whereas DHA and EPA only blunt it.ALA and DHA restore the increased SCD1 to normal. These studies suggest that ω-3 fatty acids have different potencies to preclude lipid accumulation in the offspring partially by affecting pathways associated to SCD1 modulation.
Highlights
Alpha linolenic acid (ALA, 18:3) in maternal diets has been shown to attenuate obesity associated insulin resistance (IR) in adult offspring in mice
We show that ALA is the most efficient ω-3 fatty acid in the prevention of liver lipids accumulation and that the normalization of desaturases may contribute to the involved mechanisms
This study examined the effects of feeding five groups of mothers diets containing 6 g% fat and the same amount of calories equivalent to those in a regular chow diet but differing only in the fatty acid composition confirmed by gas chromatography (GC) as described in Methods
Summary
Alpha linolenic acid (ALA, 18:3) in maternal diets has been shown to attenuate obesity associated insulin resistance (IR) in adult offspring in mice. Metabolic syndrome and cardiometabolic risk have progressively become a major public health problem [1]. Lifestyles factors such as diet, increasing maternal age, endocrine disruption, etc. The Fetal Origins hypothesis states that several of the major diseases of adult life originate in impaired intrauterine growth and development [12,13,14]. Accumulating evidence in both human and animal model indicates that ω-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA do have distinct capabilities
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