Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 8, 2026
Fat Preference: A Novel Model of Eating Behavior in Rats
Published on: June 27, 2014
Prepuberty is a window period for curcumin to prevent obesity in postnatal overfed rats
Susu Du1, Nan Zhou1, Wen Zheng1
1Department of Child Health Care, Children's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 210008, Jiangsu, China.
Insights
Early-life overnutrition increases obesity risk. Curcumin (CUR) diet intervention before puberty effectively reversed negative metabolic programming in overfed rats, highlighting prepuberty as a critical window for intervention.
Area of Science:
- Nutritional Science
- Metabolic Health
- Developmental Biology
Background:
- Early-life overnutrition is a significant risk factor for developing obesity and metabolic diseases later in life.
- The first 1000 days of life represent a critical period for nutritional programming with long-lasting metabolic consequences.
- A small-litter rat model was used to simulate early-life overnutrition in humans.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effects of a curcumin (CUR) diet on rats subjected to early-life overnutrition.
- To determine the critical time window for curcumin intervention to mitigate the adverse metabolic outcomes of overnutrition.
- To assess the impact of curcumin on body weight, glucose metabolism, and lipid profiles in overfed rats.
Main Methods:
- Male rats were assigned to normal (NL) or small (SL) litters to induce overnutrition.
- After weaning, SL rats received a 2% curcumin (CUR) diet at different time points: weaning (W3), early puberty (W6), or late puberty (W8).
- Intervention lasted 10 weeks, with assessments of body weight, glucose tolerance, lipid profiles, and specific gene expression.
Main Results:
- Postnatal overfed rats (SL) exhibited higher body weight, glucose intolerance, and hyperlipidemia compared to normal littermates (NL).
- Curcumin intervention initiated at weaning (SL-CURW13) and early puberty (SL-CURW16) significantly reduced weight gain, adipose tissue, and altered key metabolic gene expression (C/EBPα, β-catenin).
- Intervention before puberty (SL-CURW13) fully restored glucose tolerance and lipid profiles, while later interventions showed partial recovery; no benefits were observed for late pubertal intervention (SL-CURW18).
Conclusions:
- Prepuberty represents a crucial therapeutic window for curcumin intervention to reverse metabolic programming induced by early-life overnutrition.
- Earlier curcumin intervention in overfed rats leads to more favorable and comprehensive recovery of metabolic health.
- Dietary strategies, such as curcumin supplementation during sensitive developmental periods, can be effective in preventing and managing obesity and metabolic disorders originating from early-life nutritional imbalances.
Background:
Overnutrition in early life increases the risk of obesity and metabolic diseases. We investigated the effects and the window period of a curcumin (CUR) diet on postnatal overfed rats.
Methods:
Male rats aged 3 days were randomly divided into normal litters (NL, 10 pups/litter) and small litters (SL, 3 pups/litter). After weaning (Week 3, W3), NL rats were fed a normal diet (NL) and SL rats were fed a normal diet (SL) or 2% CUR diet from weaning (W3) (SL-CURW13), beginning of puberty (W6) (SL-CURW16), or end of puberty (W8) (SL-CURW18) for 10 weeks.
Results:
Body weight, glucose intolerance and hyperlipidemia in the SL rats were higher than in the NL rats, especially after puberty. After the CUR intervention, SL-CURW13 and SL-CURW16 rats showed lower body weight gain, adipose tissue weight and mRNA level of C/EBPα in SAT, along with higher mRNA levels of β-catenin. There was no difference between SL and SL-CURW18 rats. Glucose tolerance, serum lipids and hepatic lipids recovered to normal in the SL-CURW13 rats, but only partially in the SL-CURW16 and SL-CURW18 rats.
Conclusion:
Prepuberty is a window period for CUR intervention to improve programmed outcomes in postnatal overfed rats.
Impact:
Overnutrition during the first 1000 days of life has persistent negative effects on metabolism. Strategies should be taken to prevent overnutrition in early life to reduce the risk of obesity and metabolic disease in later life. A small-litter rat model was utilized to simulate early-life overnutrition in humans. We investigated the different effects and critical period for curcumin intervention on postnatal overfed rats. Dietary curcumin intervention before puberty could effectively transform nutritional programming to reduce obesity and metabolic disorders caused by early-life overnutrition, and an earlier intervention might predict a better outcome.
More Related Videos
09:10Palatable Western-style Cafeteria Diet as a Reliable Method for Modeling Diet-induced Obesity in Rodents
Published on: November 1, 2019
06:28A Chronic High-Intensity Interval Training and Diet-Induced Obesity Model to Maximize Exercise Effort and Induce Physiologic Changes in Rats
Published on: April 28, 2023
