Effect of maternal cafeteria diet and taurine supplementation on body and organ weights of the offspring

摘要

Background: Maternal over-nutrition may disrupt the developmental process of the fetus during gestation and lactation. Several studies demonstrate that taurine amino acid exerts antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antitumorigenic and hepator-enal protective effects. The possible protective influence of maternal taurine supplementation in the setting of maternal over-nutrition is not well documented. This study aimed to examine the effect of maternal cafeteria diet and/or taurine supplementation on body and organ weights of the offspring. Methods: Female Wistar rats were fed a control (CON) diet, CON supplemented with 1.5% taurine in drinking water (CONT), cafeteria diet (CAF) or CAF supplemented with taurine (CAFT) from weaning. After 8 weeks all animals were mated and maintained on the same diets during pregnancy and lactation. Birth weights were recorded and bodyweights of offspring were measured during lactation. At the end of lactation, two offspring from every dam were weaned onto a control diet and the rest were culled. Blood and tissue samples were taken. Major organ weights (liver, brain, kidneys and heart) were recorded. The effect of gestational diet on maternal and fetal outcomes was assessed using a general linear model analysis of variance (ANOVA) (fixed factors, maternal diet and sex). Where longitudinal data were available (for example, weekly body weights or energy intake), the week of study was used in a repeated-measures analysis. Results: Birth weights of pups did not differ between groups (p = 0.532), but male offspring's birth weights were higher than female offspring (CON male: 5.87±0.13g, female: 5.40±0.10g; CONT male:5.70±0.11g, female:5.36±0.11 g; CAF male:5.64±0.11g, female:5.30±0.12g and CAFT male:5.64±0.12g, female: 5.37 ± 0.11 g) (p<0.001). Maternal cafeteria diet and taurine supplementation affected body weights during lactation and both CAF and CAFT pups were leaner than CON and CONT pups (CON: 19.02 ± 0.25 g, CONT: 20.30 ± 0.26 g, CAF: 16.93 ± 0.24 g and CAFT: 16.45 ± 0.23 g) (p< 0.001). An effect of maternal diet was observed on offspring's liver weights (relative to body weights %) which indicated a significant reduction in CAF and CAFT compared to CON and CONT (CON: 4.28 ± 0.07, CONT: 3.93 ±0.07, CAF:3.45±0.07 and CAFT:3.47±0.06) (p< 0.001). The relative weight of brain was significantly heavier in CAFT than CON and CONT (CON: 3.58 ± 0.08, CONT: 3.54 ±0.08, CAF: 3.75 ±0.08 and CAFT:3.97± 0.07) (p< 0.001). The heart was heavier in CAF offspring compared to CON, CONT and CAFT offspring (CON: 0.51 ± 0.01, CONT: 0.52±0.01, CAF: 0.56±0.01 and CAFT: 0.52 ±0.01) (p = 0.002). Conclusions: Maternal cafeteria diet and/or taurine supplementation induced alterations in body and organ weights of offspring. Despite these differences, cafeteria diet supplemented with taurine did not exert a profound protective effect on body and organ weights. Future studies will continue to examine the influence of maternal cafeteria diet and taurine supplementation on physiological and metabolic changes in the offspring.