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Maternal and neonatal dietary intake of balanced n-6/n-3 fatty acids modulates experimental colitis in young adult rats

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Abstract

Background

The imbalance of n-6 and n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in the maternal diet impairs intestinal barrier development and sensitizes the colon response to inflammatory insults in the young rats. With a view to overcoming this issue, we designed this study to investigate the effect of maternal and neonatal intake of different proportions of n-6/n-3 fatty acids on colon inflammation in the young adult rats.

Methods

Female Wistar rats were assigned into four groups, and each group fed one of four semisynthetic diets, namely n-6, low n-3, n-6/n-3 and n-3 fatty acids for 8 weeks prior to mating, during gestation and lactation periods. At weaning, the pups were separated from the dams and fed diet similar to the mothers. Colitis was induced on postnatal day 35, by administering 2 % dextran sulfate sodium in drinking water for 10 days. Colitis was assessed based on the clinical and inflammatory markers in the colon. Fatty acid analysis was done in liver, RBC, colon and spleen.

Results

A balanced n-6/n-3 PUFA diet significantly improved the body weight loss, rectal bleeding and mortality in rats. This was associated with lower myeloperoxidase activity, nitric oxide, prostaglandin E2, TNF-α and IL-6, IL-8, COX-2 and iNOS levels in the colon tissues. Fatty acid analysis has shown that the arachidonic acid/docosahexaenoic acid ratio was significantly lower in liver, RBC, colon and spleen in n-6/n-3 and n-3 diet groups.

Conclusion

We demonstrate that balanced n-6/n-3 PUFA supplementation in maternal and neonatal diet alters systemic AA/DHA ratio and attenuates colon inflammation in the young adult rats.

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Abbreviations

MUFA:

Monounsaturated fatty acids

PUFA:

Polyunsaturated fatty acids

LA:

Linoleic acid

ALA:

α-Linolenic acid

AA:

Arachidonic acid

EPA:

Eicosapentaenoic acid

DHA:

Docosahexaenoic acid

LC-PUFA:

Long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids

TNF-α:

Tumor necrosis factor-α

IL-6:

Interleukin-6

IL-8:

Interleukin-8

COX-2:

Cyclooxygenase-2

iNOS:

Inducible nitric oxide synthase-2

PGE2 :

Prostaglandin E2

LTB4 :

Leukotriene B4

RBC:

Red blood cells

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Director, Prof. Ram Rajasekharan, 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.

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  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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Correspondence to K. Akhilender Naidu.

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Reddy, K.V.K., Naidu, K.A. Maternal and neonatal dietary intake of balanced n-6/n-3 fatty acids modulates experimental colitis in young adult rats. Eur J Nutr 55, 1875–1890 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-015-1004-0

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