Maternal use of a diet rich omega‐3 from flaxseed improves aortic remodeling but not the biochemical parameters of female offspring of diabetic rats

Abstract

The aim of this paper was to evaluate the influence of flaxseed flour and flaxseed oil on biochemical parameters and aortic morphology of the offspring of type 2 diabetic rats. Rats were induced into diabetes by a high fat diet and streptozotocin (STZ) (35 mg/kg). After confirming the diagnosis of diabetes, they were mated and, when gestation was confirmed, were divided into four groups: control group (CG), high fat group (HFG), flaxseed oil group (FOG), and flaxseed flour group (FFG). After weaning, six females from each group were separated and were fed a commercial diet until 100 days of age, when they were sacrificed. It was observed that experimental diets did not affect monocyte chemotactic protein 1 (MCP‐1) concentration, cholesterol, triglycerides and VLDL. On the other hand, the concentration of VEGF was higher in HFG and FOG groups in comparison to CG. The thickness values of the aorta were significantly smaller in FOG and FFG, and the lumen area was the same among the CG, HFG, and FFG, while the FOG showed a smaller lumen area when compared to CG and HFG. The data here suggest that a diet rich in flaxseed flour and flaxseed oil reduces the remodeling of the aorta, even though it did not modify cardiovascular biochemical parameters.Practical applications: The results help explain how the use of omega‐3 rich diet decreases the impact of gestational diabetes on cardiac risk of offspring.We evaluated the influence of maternal ingestion of a high fat diet with added flaxseed flour and flaxseed oil during pregnancy and lactation on the morphology and biochemical parameters of the aorta in the female offspring of diabetic rats 100 days of life. It was observed that experimental diets did not altered the biochemical parameters of their offspring when they reached adult age. However it is suggested that there was a beneficial action promoted by maternal consumption of flaxseed meal or flaxseed oil against aortic remodeling of offspring at 100 days of life.