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Maternal diet of polyunsaturated fatty acid influence the physical and neurobehaviour of rat offspring
Author(s) -
Yang Rui,
Liu Shao,
Zheng Yi,
Zhang Mengqi,
Dang Ruili,
Tang Mimi
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
international journal of developmental neuroscience
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.761
H-Index - 88
eISSN - 1873-474X
pISSN - 0736-5748
DOI - 10.1016/j.ijdevneu.2018.09.005
Subject(s) - offspring , polyunsaturated fatty acid , righting reflex , litter , biology , endocrinology , medicine , physiology , reflex , pregnancy , fatty acid , biochemistry , genetics , agronomy
Background Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are normal components of growth and development and its derivatives especially n‐3 PUFAs have an influence on the development and maturation of nervous system. The purpose of our present study was to investigate the effect of maternal n‐3 PUFAs dietary on physical maturation and the neurobiological development of the rat offspring. Methods According to the content of n‐3 PUFAs in their diets, female dams were randomly divided into three treatment groups (n = 6–7): deficiency, control and supplementation. The physical parameters and neurobehavioral tests were measured in the rats’ offspring. Results There were no significant differences in litter size and sex ratio between three groups. However, the ratio of brain/body weight was higher in the deficiency pups than the control. As to the body weight, the deficiency pups were heavier than the control pups on postnatal day (PND) 1, PND7, PND14, and PND21, while supplementation pups were lower than the control pups on PND1. There are no significant differences in the physical parameters of incisor eruption and fur appearance between three groups. However, deficiency pups had earlier eye opening than the control pups. Unfortunately, there were no significant differences in surface righting reflex, cliff avoidance, forelimb grip and air righting reflex. Whereas, supplementation pups required less time to complete negative geotaxis than the control pups on PND17. Conclusion This study suggests that the consumption of adequate n‐3 PUFAs is benefit for the optimal growth and development of rat offspring. The n‐3 PUFAs supplementation is beneficial to population that did not have sufficient provision of n‐3 PUFAs in the diet during gestation and lactation.