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Maternal supplementation of α-linolenic acid in normal and protein-restricted diets modulate lipid metabolism, adipose tissue growth and leptin levels in the suckling offspring

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Abstract

Background

Lipid quantity and quality have been shown to affect serum cholesterol, adipose and serum leptin levels during prenatal and postnatal dietary supplementation of adult rats. Maternal protein deficiency during pregnancy and lactation also affects polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) levels in the offspring. The aim of the present study was to analyze the effect of α-linolenic acid (ALA; n-3) on n-3 PUFA accretion, lipid profile, leptin levels and adipose growth in normal and protein-restricted (deficient) dams and their suckling pups.

Methods

Garden cress oil rich in ALA (32 %) was supplemented in the normal and protein-restricted (10 %) diets and fed to rats for 8 weeks prior to gestation and during lactation. PUFA, cholesterol, triglycerides, leptin levels and retroperitoneal white adipose tissue weight (WAT) of the dams and the pups were analyzed at 3 weeks after delivery.

Results

The serum cholesterol levels were remarkably decreased (p < 0.01), and the n-3 PUFA levels were markedly increased (p < 0.05) in the pups of lactating normal and protein-deficient dams supplemented with ALA. Triglycerides were unaltered in the dams and the pups of different dietary groups. Serum leptin levels and relative WAT weights were lower (p < 0.01) in the pups of the ALA-supplemented normal and protein-deficient dams.

Conclusion

Maternal supplementation of ALA in normal and protein-restricted diets modulates n-3 PUFA levels, cholesterol, leptin levels and also adipose growth in the suckling offspring.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Director, Prof. Ram Rajsekharan, CSIR-CFTRI, Mysore, for his support and encouragement in the present study. Mr. K.V.K Reddy, CSIR senior research fellow, gratefully acknowledges the financial assistance from Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), New Delhi, in carrying out these investigations. KAN gratefully acknowledges the financial support in the form of a Project (SR/SO/HS-0005/2010) awarded by Department of Science and Technology (DST), New Delhi, India.

Conflict of interest

Authors do not have any financial conflict of interest. We have no commercial arrangement with companies that market garden cress oil.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biochemistry and Nutrition, CSIR-Central Food Technological Research Institute, Mysore, 570020, India

    K. Vijay Kumar Reddy & K. Akhilender Naidu

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  1. K. Vijay Kumar Reddy
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  2. K. Akhilender Naidu
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Correspondence to K. Akhilender Naidu.

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Reddy, K.V.K., Naidu, K.A. Maternal supplementation of α-linolenic acid in normal and protein-restricted diets modulate lipid metabolism, adipose tissue growth and leptin levels in the suckling offspring. Eur J Nutr 54, 761–770 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-014-0755-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-014-0755-3

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