Prenatal omega 3 fatty acid supplementation to a micronutrient imbalanced diet protects brain neurotrophins in both the cortex and hippocampus in the adult rat offspring.
OBJECTIVE
Our earlier studies show that maternal diets imbalanced in micronutrients like folic acid and vitamin B12 reduced brain docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and nerve growth factor (NGF) in the offspring at birth and postnatal d21. This study followed the offspring till 3 months to examine the hypothesis that impaired brain neurotrophins at birth and d21 due to altered maternal micronutrients can be reversed by prenatal omega 3 fatty acid but not a postnatal control diet leading to altered cognition in adult life.


MATERIALS AND METHODS
Pregnant rats were divided into control and five treatment groups at two levels of folic acid (normal and excess folate) in the presence and absence of vitamin B12 (NFBD, EFB and EFBD). Omega 3 fatty acid supplementation was given to the vitamin B12 deficient groups (NFBDO and EFBDO). Following delivery, 8 dams from each group were shifted to control and remaining continued on same diet.


RESULTS
Imbalance in maternal micronutrients up to 3months decreased DHA, BDNF and NGF in cortex and only BDNF in the hippocampus and impaired cognitive performance. Postnatal control diet normalized BDNF in the cortex but not the hippocampus and also altered cognitive performance. Prenatal omega 3 fatty acid supplementation normalized DHA, BDNF and NGF while long term supplementation was not beneficial only when micronutrients were imbalanced.


CONCLUSION
Patterns established at birth are not totally reversible by postnatal diets and give clues for planning intervention studies for improving brain functioning and cognitive abilities.
['Sable|Pratiksha S|PS|', 'Kale|Anvita A|AA|', 'Joshi|Sadhana R|SR|']
D000824:Animal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena D000818:Animals D001921:Brain D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor D002540:Cerebral Cortex D003071:Cognition D004032:Diet D019587:Dietary Supplements D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3 D005260:Female D005492:Folic Acid D005494:Folic Acid Deficiency D006624:Hippocampus D006710:Homocysteine D018782:Maze Learning D018977:Micronutrients D020932:Nerve Growth Factor D009929:Organ Size D011247:Pregnancy D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects D011897:Random Allocation D051381:Rats D014805:Vitamin B 12 D014806:Vitamin B 12 Deficiency
Docosahexaenoic Acid DHA Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor BDNF Nerve Growth Factor NGF Cognition AA Arachidonic Acid Brain derived neurotrophic factor Developmental Origins of Health and Disease DoHad