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Updated: Jan 6, 2026
Author Spotlight: Studying the Impact of Maternal Dietary Deficiencies on Long-Term Offspring Health Outcomes
Published on: June 28, 2024
Maternal fish oil supplementation improves metabolic and inflammatory markers in mice overfed during the postnatal
Isabela Queiroz Perígolo Lopes1, Brenda Loise Monteiro1, Adaliene Versiani Matos Ferreira2
1Department of Nutrition, Federal University of Lavras, Lavras, Brazil.
Background:
Early-life nutrition, especially during gestation and lactation, plays a key role in metabolic programming and can influence the risk of obesity and related conditions in adulthood. This study investigated whether supplementation with maternal fish oil-rich in omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids-could prevent metabolic and inflammatory changes induced by postnatal overfeeding.
Methods:
Female mice received fish oil (1 g/kg by oral gavage) during mating, pregnancy, and lactation. The animals were allocated into three groups: control (C), postnatal overfeeding (PO), and postnatal overfeeding + fish oil (POFO). Neonatal overfeeding was induced by reducing litter size, and only male offspring were analyzed. In adulthood, body weight, glucose tolerance, lipid profile, serum adipokines, adipose tissue cytokines, and hepatic oxidative stress markers were evaluated.
Results:
Maternal fish oil supplementation reduced early weight gain and lowered fasting glucose, total cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels, while increasing high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels in overfed offspring. It also decreased serum leptin, resistin, and chemerin levels and reduced hepatic lipid peroxidation, thereby restoring catalase activity. No differences were observed in hepatic triglycerides or superoxide dismutase activity.
Conclusion:
Maternal fish oil supplementation during critical developmental windows attenuated the metabolic, inflammatory, and oxidative stress alterations induced by postnatal overfeeding in male mice.
