Maternal Exposure to Red Rooibos Does Not Alter Bone Development in Male or Female Sprague-Dawley Rat Offspring

Maternal diet during pregnancy and/or throughout lactation provides a potential opportunity for nutritional programming of offspring bone development. Objectives of this study were to determine whether maternal consumption of red rooibos (RR) throughout pregnancy and lactation improved bone mineral density (BMD), bone structure, and bone strength in offspring and to determine potential sex-specific responses. Female Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned to control water or RR in water (2600 mg/kg body weight/d) from prepregnancy through to the end of lactation. At weaning, offspring were fed AIN-93G diet until age 3 mo. Longitudinal assessment of the tibia demonstrated that maternal exposure to RR did not alter the trajectory of BMD or bone structure in male or female offspring compared with sex-specific controls at age 1, 2, or 3 mo or bone strength at age 3 mo. In conclusion, maternal exposure to RR did not program bone development in male or female offspring.