The Regulatory Effects of Pea Protein Hydrolysate on Lipid Metabolism in Gestational Diabetic Mice

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) poses significant risks to maternal health and adverse metabolic outcomes in offspring. Pea protein hydrolysate (PPH), a kind of bioactive peptide with anti-diabetic properties, was evaluated for its therapeutic potential in the GDM mouse model. While PPH exhibited mild glucose-lowering effects, high-dose PPH (1000 mg/kg/day) significantly ameliorated insulin resistance and systemic dyslipidemia, including reductions in serum triglycerides, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and hepatic lipid accumulation. In addition, the PPH treatment could significantly modulate the placental pathology. Thus, a mechanistic study was conducted from the view of placental lipid metabolism. It was found that the inhibition of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR/PPARγ signaling pathway was involved in the mechanisms of action of PPH, which successfully prevented excessive placental lipid accumulation and ensured that the key structures of the placenta remained in the original state. Furthermore, PPH alleviated the GDM-induced reduction in placental phosphatidylcholine (PC) and phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) levels, restoring two functionally critical lipid species: PC (16:0/20:4) and FAHFA (26:1/22:3). Collectively, PPH showed the potential to mitigate GDM-associated metabolic disturbances and placental dysfunction.