Vitamin A Status in Neonatal and Weanling Rats Reared by Mothers Consuming Normal and High Fat Diets with or Without Vitamin A Supplementation

Abstract

Abstract Objectives Although the circulating level of vitamin A (VA) is reported to be significantly lower in obese adults, it is unknown if maternal adiposity would influence the VA status of the offspring. The aim of this study was to investigate the status and distribution of VA in the offspring of rats consuming a normal fat diet (NFD) or a high fat diet (HFD), with or without VA supplementation. Methods Sprague-Dawley rats arrived on their second day of gestation and were randomized to either a NFD (25% fat) or a HFD (50% fat) both with an adequate level of VA at 2.6 mg/kg. Upon the delivery of pups, half of rat mothers from the NFD or HFD cohort were switched to a NFD or a HFD both with supplemented VA at 129 mg/kg (NFD + VA and HFD + VA group), respectively. The other half remained on their diets with adequate VA (NFD and HFD group). At postnatal day 14 (P14) and P25, 4 pups/group were euthanized. At P25, the remaining weanling pups (n = 3/group) were fed diets of their respective mothers until being euthanized at P35. Concentrations of total retinol in serum, liver, visceral white AT (WAT), and brown AT (BAT) were measured by UPLC. Results Through the study, pups in non-supplemented groups showed a normal serum retinol concentration but a marginal liver VA status. At all the time points, serum retinol concentration was significantly (P < 0.05) increased in VA-supplemented groups as compared to non-supplemented ones; no significant difference was noted between the NFD and the HFD group. At P14, serum retinol concentration was significantly lower in the HFD + VA group than in the NFD + VA group. In liver, WAT, and BAT, both the concentration and the mass of total retinol was significantly higher in HFD + VA and NFD + VA group than in their respective control at all the time points, with no significant difference noted between the two control groups. At P25, both the concentration and the mass of total retinol in liver and in WAT was significantly higher in HFD + VA than in NFD + VA group. Conclusions Maternal VA supplementation added to both NFD and HFD raised VA status of the offspring. A lower VA concentration in serum but higher concentration in liver and WAT was observed in the HFD + VA group as compared to the NFD + VA group at given time points, indicating that maternal HFD consumption potentially compromised the availability of functional VA in circulation by increasing its deposition in storage organs. Funding Sources NIH.