Maternal Lipid Intake During Pregnancy and Lactation Alters Milk Composition and Production and Litter Growth in Rats ,

Abstract

The relationship between dietary fat content and milk composition, production and litter growth was studied in rats fed during pregnancy and lactation purified diets of equal energy density containing 2.5 or 20 g fat/100 g diet. A subsample of rats (HL-EP group) fed the high lipid (HL) diet but pair-fed on an energy basis with the low lipid (LL) diet group was also studied in a separate experiment. Food intake, dam body weight and litter weight were recorded daily. Rats were milked on d 14 of lactation. Milk lipid, lactose and protein concentration and milk production were measured. Lactating rats fed the HL diet had significantly higher energy intakes (P < 0.01) and milk production (P < 0.05) than rats fed the LL diet. Milk lipid concentration and daily milk volume and lipid production were significantly higher in the HL group. The HL-EP dams had significantly higher milk lipid, protein and lactose concentrations (P < 0.05) and tended to have higher daily lipid and energy outputs (P = 0.08) than LL rats. Birth weights of pups were similar among groups, but from d 6 on, the pups from the HL and HL-EP groups were significantly heavier (P < 0.05) than pups from the LL group. This investigation presents evidence that the milk fat concentration and the daily output of fat, protein and lactose of lactating rats are altered by dietary fat manipulations, which in turn affect growth of the litter.

High-protein diet during gestation and lactation affects mammary gland mRNA abundance, milk composition and pre-weaning litter growth in mice

“…However, there seems to be a similarity with the effects of a low-protein diet that also causes decreased birth weight and altered body mass (BM) development of the offspring during lactation (Fagundes et al, 2007;Desai et al, 1996and 1997. Excess of nutrients can lead to altered milk volume (King et al, 1993;Del Prado et al, 1997), lactose (Pine et al, 1994) as well as milk fat concentrations (Aoki et al, 1999;Tilton et al, 1999) subsequent to changes in mammary gland (MG) structure and gene expression (Flint et al, 2005;Rudolph et al, 2007). To our knowledge, the effects of a high dietary protein intake during gestation and lactation on murine MG histology and mRNA abundance have not been determined before.…”

Experimental diet based on the foods listed in the Family Budget Survey is more detrimental to growth than to the reflex development of rats

“…In turn, milk availability has a direct impact on pup growth 26,32 . Pups from dams fed a high-fat diet (20%) with adequate protein content are significantly heavier than controls on the sixth day of life, and the difference in weight is even greater by day nine 32 . These dams not only produced more milk, but their milk also presented higher fat, protein and energy contents.…”

“…Also, low dietary protein increases the fat content of milk from the fourth day of lactation 6 . High-fat diets increase the fat content and energy density of the milk, causing greater satiety and, therefore, less intake 32 . These facts may explain to a certain degree the smaller skull growth seen in the POFG pups, but the difference was not significant.…”

Influence of a 60 Hz, 3 µT, electromagnetic field on the somatic maturation of wistar rat offspring fed a regional basic diet during pregnancy

“…In trying to understand these effects and living beings' capability to adapt to different forms of aggression, many researchers have been investigating the effects of different kinds of nutritional injury to the nervous system in the early phases of its development. These studies have shown morphologic, neurochemical, endocrine and functional alterations (Morgane et al 1993;Del-Prado et al, 1997).…”