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Published on: August 7, 2017
Progress on the protective effects of maternal fatty acid supplementation on infant asthma risk: a narrative review
Peng Xu1, Zheng Wang2, Jie Li3
1College of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, China.
Insights
Maternal intake of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), particularly omega-3 (N-3) PUFAs during pregnancy, may reduce infant asthma risk. Further research is needed to confirm the efficacy of N-3 PUFAs.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Nutritional Science
- Pediatric Respiratory Medicine
Background:
- Asthma is a chronic airway inflammatory disease influenced by genetic and environmental factors.
- Maternal nutrition during pregnancy is linked to childhood asthma development.
- Fatty acids (FA) are classified as saturated (SFA), monounsaturated (MUFA), and polyunsaturated (PUFA).
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the relationship between maternal fatty acid intake during pregnancy and infant asthma risk.
- To review the immunomodulatory roles of different fatty acid types, particularly PUFAs, in asthma pathogenesis.
Main Methods:
- Literature review and analysis of existing epidemiological studies and scientific literature.
- Examination of the biochemical and immunological mechanisms of fatty acids in relation to airway inflammation.
- Assessment of the impact of maternal SFA, MUFA, and PUFA consumption on infant immune development and asthma risk.
Main Results:
- Excessive SFA and MUFA intake may exacerbate airway inflammation and promote asthma development.
- Maternal intake of PUFAs, especially N-3 PUFAs, shows potential in reducing infant asthma risk by modulating immune responses.
- Existing evidence on N-3 PUFAs is promising but requires further investigation due to some conflicting results.
Conclusions:
- Maternal dietary patterns, specifically PUFA consumption, may play a crucial role in preventing infant asthma.
- N-3 PUFAs demonstrate potential therapeutic benefits for asthma prevention in infants.
- Large-scale, multicenter randomized controlled trials are necessary to definitively establish the efficacy of N-3 PUFAs.
Abstract:
Asthma is a heterogeneous disease characterized by chronic airway inflammation, and involves a variety of cells and cellular components, which genetic and environmental factors play an important role in the pathogenesis of asthma. It usually occurs in infancy, and epidemiological studies have shown that maternal nutrition during pregnancy is related to the occurrence of asthma in childhood. Fatty acids (FA) are carboxylic acids with different amounts of carbons. Based on the differences between saturated and unsaturated hydrocarbon chains, it can be divided into three categories: saturated fatty acid (SFA, no double bonds between them), monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA, one double bond), and polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA, multiple double bonds). Excessive intake of SFA is the main cause of elevated blood cholesterol, triglyceride, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), which leads to arterial lumen stenosis and atherosclerosis, and increases the risk of coronary heart disease. MUFA has hypoglycemic, lipid-lowering, cholesterol-lowering, and antithrombotic effects. SFAs and MUFAs can increase airway inflammation and promote the development of asthma. However, the correlation between maternal SFA and MUFA intake and infant asthma risk has not been reported. The most widely studied PUFA are N-3 PUFA and N-6 PUFA, which mainly derived from vegetable oil, fish oil, and microorganism. As an important component of membrane phospholipids, PUFA can play an immunomodulatory role by affecting the production of eicosanoids, cell membrane fluidity, and gene expression. Maternal intake of PUFAs, especially N-3 PUFAs during pregnancy, can reduce the risk of infant asthma by regulating Th1/Th2 cytokines and immune responses, but a few studies are still controversial. Therefore, large-scale multicenter randomized controlled clinical trials are still warranted to further verify the efficacy of N-3 PUFAs on asthma.
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