Arachidonic acid/docosahexaenoic acid‐supplemented diet in early life reduces body weight gain, plasma lipids, and adiposity in later life in A po E *3 L eiden mice

Scope This study addresses whether early life arachidonic acid ( ARA )/docosahexaenoic acid ( DHA ) supplementation or eicosapentaenoic acid ( EPA )/ DHA ( O macor) supplementation affects body weight gain, lipid metabolism, and adipose tissue quantity and quality in later life in A po E *3 L eiden‐transgenic mice, a humanized model for hyperlipidemia and mild obesity. Methods and results Four‐week‐old male A po E *3 L eiden mice were fed chow diet with or without a mixture of ARA (0.129 wt%) and DHA (0.088 wt%) or O macor (0.30 wt% EPA , 0.25 wt% DHA ). At age 12 weeks, mice were fed high‐fat/high‐carbohydrate ( HFHC ) diet without above supplements until age 20 weeks. Control mice received chow diet throughout the study. Mice receiving ARA / DHA gained less body weight compared to control and this effect was sustained when fed HFHC . O macor had no significant effect on body weight gain. Plasma cholesterol and triglycerides were significantly lowered by both supplementations. At 20 weeks, epididymal fat mass was less in ARA / DHA ‐supplemented mice, while O macor had no significant effect on fat mass. Both ARA / DHA and O macor reduced inguinal adipocyte cell size; only ARA / DHA significantly reduced epididymal macrophage infiltration. Conclusion This study shows that early life ARA / DHA , but not O macor supplementation improves body weight gain later in life. ARA / DHA and to a lesser extent O macor both improved adipose tissue quality.