DHA Supplementation of Obese Rats throughout Pregnancy and Lactation Modifies Milk Composition and Anxiety Behavior of Offspring

Elena Zambrano (1) , Guadalupe Rodríguez-González (1) , Luis Reyes-Castro (1) , Claudia Bautista (1) , Diana Castro-Rodríguez (1) , Gimena Juárez-Pilares (1) , Carlos Ibáñez (1) , Alejandra Hernández-Rojas (1) , Peter Nathanielsz (2) , Sara Montaño (1) , Armando Arredondo (3) , Fengyang Huang (4) , Francisco Bolaños-Jiménez (5)

1 Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubirán
2 UW - University of Wyoming
3 INSP - National Institute of Public Health = Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública [Cuernavaca, Mexique]
4 HIMFG - Hospital Infantil de México Federico Gómez
5 PhAN - Physiopathologie des Adaptations Nutritionnelles

We investigated if supplementing obese mothers (MO) with docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) improves milk long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid (LCPUFA) composition and offspring anxiety behavior. From weaning throughout pregnancy and lactation, female Wistar rats ate chow (C) or a high-fat diet (MO). One month before mating and through lactation, half the mothers received 400 mg DHA kg−1 d−1 orally (C+DHA or MO+DHA). Offspring ate C after weaning. Maternal weight, total body fat, milk hormones, and milk nutrient composition were determined. Pups’ milk nutrient intake was evaluated, and behavioral anxiety tests were conducted. MO exhibited increased weight and total fat, and higher milk corticosterone, leptin, linoleic, and arachidonic acid (AA) concentrations, and less DHA content. MO male and female offspring had higher ω-6/ ω-3 milk consumption ratios. In the elevated plus maze, female but not male MO offspring exhibited more anxiety. MO+DHA mothers exhibited lower weight, total fat, milk leptin, and AA concentrations, and enhanced milk DHA. MO+DHA offspring had a lower ω-6/ω-3 milk intake ratio and reduced anxiety vs. MO. DHA content was greater in C+DHA milk vs. C. Supplementing MO mothers with DHA improves milk composition, especially LCPUFA content and ω-6/ω-3 ratio reducing offspring anxiety in a sex-dependent manner.

Mots clés: obesity; breastfeeding; behavioral disorders; LCPUFA; interventions

Domaines: Sciences du Vivant [q-bio]

Elena Zambrano, Guadalupe Rodríguez-González, Luis Reyes-Castro, Claudia Bautista, Diana Castro-Rodríguez, et al.. DHA Supplementation of Obese Rats throughout Pregnancy and Lactation Modifies Milk Composition and Anxiety Behavior of Offspring. Nutrients, 2021, 13 (12), ⟨10.3390/nu13124243⟩. ⟨hal-03793215⟩