Toxicological aspects of interesterified fat: Brain damages in rats

Supplementation with Moringa oleifera Lam leaf and seed flour during the pregnancy and lactation period of Wistar rats: Maternal evaluation of initial and adult neurobehavioral development of the rat progeny

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Moringa oleifera Lam. (M. oleifera) is a tree species of Indian origin popularly known as the "tree of life". In various cultures, it is used by pregnant women to increase milk production, yet studies on its effects during pregnancy and lactation are lacking.

AIM OF THE STUDY

To evaluate the nutraceutical aspects of flours produced from the leaves and seeds of M. oleifera, and to evaluate the effect of supplementation of pregnant Wistar rats during the gestation and lactation period, with the aim of studying the weight gain and neonatal parameters of the pregnant rats, as well as effects on the neurobehavioral development and memory in their offspring.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The flour supplementation was conducted at a concentration of 100 mg per kg of animal body weight. For the memory tests, the Open Field Habituation test was performed and repeated after seven days. The Object Recognition test was conducted with the animal exposed to the open field in short and long familiarization sessions. The data obtained were analyzed using Kruskal-Wallis tests for non-parametric data and one-way and two-way ANOVA for parametric data.

RESULTS

Flour produced from both the leaf and seed of M. oleifera was found to contain significant amounts of nutrients (protein, fibre, carbohydrates, etc.), making them suitable for supplementation. The exposure of pregnant rats to M. oleifera leaf and seed flours did not affect weight gain, did not have harmful effects on the birth of offspring, and did not result in abortions or mutations in the offspring. Regarding the supplemented group's offspring, early maturation of the senses in the offspring compared to the control group was observed in all tests were conducted; indicating that supplementation positively impacted cognitive development. Further, the offspring of the supplemented rats presented reduced locomotion and greater exploration of new objects compared to the control group offspring, indicating positive effects on learning.

CONCLUSION

This study describes for the first time the beneficial effects on pregnant Wistar rats and their offspring of maternal supplementation with flour products from the leaves and seeds of M. oleifera.

Mix of almond baru (Dipteryx alata Vog.) and goat whey modulated intestinal microbiota, improved memory and induced anxiolytic like behavior in aged rats

The objective was to evaluate the effects of the consumption of a mix of baru almond and goat whey on memory performance and anxiety parameters related to the intestinal health of rats treated during aging. The animals were divided into three groups and treated by gavage for 10 weeks (n = 10/each group): Control (CT) - distilled water; Baru almond (BA) - 2000 mg of baru/kg of body weight; and Baru + Whey (BW) - 2000 mg of baru + 2000 mg of goat milk whey/kg of body weight. Anxiety behavior, memory, brain fatty acid profile and fecal microbiota were measured. BA and BW realized less grooming, spent more time in the central area of the open field and the open arms, and realized more head dipping in the elevated plus maze. A higher rate of exploration of the new object in the short and long-term memory was observed in BA and BW. There was an increase in the deposition of MUFAs and PUFAs and oleic acid in the brain of BA and BW. Regarding spatial memory, BA and BW performed better, with an emphasis on BW. There was a beneficial modulation of the fecal microbiota with a reduction of the pathogenic genus Clostridia_UFC-014 in BA and BW and an increase in the abundance of metabolic pathways of interest in the brain-gut axis. Thus, consumption of the mix is efficient in beneficially altering the intestinal microbiota, improving memory and anxiolytic-like behavior in rats during aging.

INTERESTERIFIED FAT MATERNAL CONSUMPTION BEFORE CONCEPTION PROGRAMMS MEMORY AND LEARNING OF ADULTHOOD OFFSPRING: how big is this deleterious repercussion?

In recent years, interesterified fat (IF) has largely replaced trans fat in industrialized food. Studies of our research group showed that IF consumption may not be safe for central nervous system (CNS) functions. Our current aim was to evaluate IF maternal consumption before conception on cognitive performance of adult rat offspring. Female Wistar rats were fed with standard chow plus 20% soybean and fish oil mix (control group) or plus 20% IF from weaning until adulthood (before mating), when the diets were replaced by standard chow only. Following the gestation and pups' development, locomotion and memory performance followed by neurotrophin immunocontent and fatty acids (FA) profile in the hippocampus of the adulthood male offspring were quantified. Maternal IF consumption before conception decreased hippocampal palmitoleic acid incorporation, proBDNF and BDNF levels, decreasing both exploratory activity and memory performance in adult offspring. Considering that, the adult male offspring did not consume IF directly, further studies are needed to understand the molecular mechanisms and if the IF maternal preconception consumption could induce the epigenetic changes observed here. Our outcomes reinforce an immediate necessity to monitor and / or question the replacement of trans fat by IF with further studies involving CNS functions.

Chronic consumption of a high linoleic acid diet during pregnancy, lactation and post-weaning period increases depression-like behavior in male, but not female offspring

Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) play an essential role in brain development. Emerging data have suggested a possible link between an imbalance in PUFAs and cognitive behavioral deficits in offspring. A diet rich in high linoleic acid (HLA), typically from preconception to lactation, leads to an increase in the ratio of omega-6 (n-6) to omega-3 (n-3) fatty acids in the fetus. Arising research has suggested that a deficiency in omega-3 fatty acids is a potential risk factor for inducing autism spectrum disorder (ASD)-like behavioral deficits. However, the impact of a high n- diet during preconception, pregnancy, lactation, and post-weaning on the brain development of adolescent offspring are yet to be determined. This study examined whether consumption of an HLA diet during pregnancy, lactation, and post-weaning induced social and cognitive impairments in female and male offspring rats that resemble autistic phenotypes in humans. Female Wistar Kyoto rats were fed with either HLA or low linoleic acid (LLA) control diet for 10 weeks before mating, then continued with the same diet throughout the pregnancy and lactation period. Female and male offspring at 5 weeks old were subjected to behavioral tests to assess social interaction behavior and depression-/anxiety-like behavior. Our result showed that chronic consumption of an HLA diet did not affect sociability and social recognition memory, but induced depression-like behavior in male but not in female offspring.

Effects of the aqueous extract of Phyllanthus niruri Linn during pregnancy and lactation on neurobehavioral parameters of rats' offspring

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Phyllanthus niruri L. (Phyllanthaceae) is a plant used in traditional medicine, mainly to treat kidney stones. However, the effects of maternal exposure to P. niruri remain poorly explored.

AIM OF THE STUDY

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of administration of aqueous extract of P. niruri (AEPN) during pregnancy and lactation, in maternal toxicity, reflex maturation, and offspring memory.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Pregnant rats were divided into three groups (n = 8/group): Control (vehicle), AEPN 75, and AEPN 150 (each respectively treated with P. niruri at a dose of 75 and 150 mg/kg/day). The animals were treated via intragastric gavage during pregnancy and lactation. Weight gain, feed intake, and reproductive performance were analyzed in the mothers. In the offspring, the following tests were performed: Neonatal Reflex Ontogeny, Open Field Habituation Test and the Object Recognition Test in adulthood.

RESULTS

Maternal exposure to AEPN did not influence weight gain, feed intake, or reproductive parameters. In the offspring, anticipation of reflex ontogenesis (time of completion) was observed (p < 0.05). During adulthood, the AEPN groups presented decreases in exploratory activity upon their second exposure to the Open Field Habituation Test (in a dose-dependent manner) (p < 0.05). In the Object Recognition Test, administration of the extract at 75 and 150 mg/kg induced significant dose-dependent improvements in short and long-term memory (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Administration of the AEPN accelerated the reflex maturation in neonates, and improved offspring memory while inducing no maternal or neonatal toxicity.

Interesterified fat consumption since gestation decreases striatal dopaminergic targets levels and gdnf impairing locomotion of adult offspring

Interesterified fat (IF) currently substitutes the hydrogenated vegetable fat (HVF) in processed foods. However, the IF consumption impact on the central nervous system (CNS) has been poorly studied. The current study investigated connections between IF chronic consumption and locomotor impairments in early life period and adulthood of rats and access brain molecular targets related to behavior changes in adulthood offspring. During pregnancy and lactation, female rats received soybean oil (SO) or IF and their male pups received the same maternal supplementation from weaning until adulthood. Pups' motor ability and locomotor activity in adulthood were evaluated. In the adult offspring striatum, dopaminergic targets, glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDFN) and lipid profile were quantified. Pups from IF supplementation group presented impaired learning concerning complex motor skill and sensorimotor behavior. The same animals showed decreased locomotion in adulthood. Moreover, IF group showed decreased immunoreactivity of all dopaminergic targets evaluated and GDNF, along with important changes in FA composition in striatum. This study shows that the brain modifications induce by IF consumption resulted in impaired motor control in pups and decreased locomotion in adult animals. Other studies about health damages induced by IF consumption may have a contribution from our current outcomes.

Maternal Supplementation With Avocado (Persea americana Mill.) Pulp and Oil Alters Reflex Maturation, Physical Development, and Offspring Memory in Rats

Avocado (Persea americana Mill.) is an oleaginous fruit source of fatty acids with high levels of neuroprotective phytocomplexes. The objective of this study was to evaluate the development of reflex and somatic maturation, fatty acid profiles in the brain, and memory in different stages of life in the offspring of dams supplemented with avocado pulp and oil during gestation and lactation. The dams were randomly divided into three groups (n = 15 pups/group), and recieved by gavage supplementation: control group (CG)-distilled water; Avocado Oil (AO)-3,000 mg avocado oil/kg animal weight, and Avocado Pulp (AP)-3,000 mg avocado pulp/kg animal weight. We performed the following tests: Analysis of Somatic Development and Ontogeny of Postnatal Reflex (T0 to T21), the Open Field Habituation Test and the Object Recognition Test (ORT) in the adolescent (T45) and adult (T90) phases. The cerebral fatty acids content was evaluated at times T0, T21, T45, and T90. The results were analyzed using the statistical program GraphPad Prism and significant statistics were considered when p < 0.05. Acceleration of reflex maturation and reflex ontogeny was observed in the offspring of AO and AP fed dams, with the results being more pronounced in the pulp fed group (p < 0.05). All groups presented a decrease in the ambulation parameter in the second exposure to the Open Field Habituation Test, at T45 and T90 (p < 0.05). In the ORT, the AO and AP offspring presented memory improvements in the short and long term in the adult and adolescent phases (p < 0.05). The results of the brain fatty acid profiles presented higher polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) content in the AO and AP groups at T21, T45, and T90. The docosahexaenoic fatty acid (DHA) content was higher at T21 (AO and AP), at T45 (AO and AP), and at T90 (AP) (p < 0.05). The arachidonic acid (ARA) content was higher at T45 (AO and AP), and at T90 (AO) (p < 0.05). Maternal supplementation with avocado oil and pulp anticipates reflex maturation and somatic postnatal development, and improves memory during the adolescent and adult phases.

Comparative evaluation of adolescent repeated psychological or physical stress effects on adult cognitive performance, oxidative stress, and heart rate in female rats

Multiple adult health problems are associated with adolescent stress. As the brain discriminates physical and psychological stressors by activation of different neural networks, we hypothesized that behavioral and physiological performance would be modulated differently based on the nature of the stressors. Thus, we studied the comparative effects of adolescent repeated physical and psychological stresses on adult cognitive performance, pro-oxidant-antioxidant balance (PAB) and heart rate in female rats. The aim was to differentiate disparate potency of chronic psychological and physical stresses leading to long-term behavioral and physiological alterations. Twenty-one female rats were divided randomly into three groups of seven rats each; control, physical, and psychological stress. Experimental rats were exposed to the stressors for five consecutive days (10 min daily) via a two-communication box. After verifying stress induction by serum corticosterone measurement, the rats were returned to their home cage for 6 weeks, until adulthood, elevated plus maze (EPM), forced swimming test (FST), Y-maze, object recognition task (ORT), and passive avoidance test (PAT) were used as five different behavioral tests to evaluate cognitive performance of each group. Serum PAB and heart rate were measured to assess long-term stress-induced physiological disorders. The results showed exposure to adolescent psychological stress resulted in a larger set of significant changes (in behavioral variation, oxidative stress, and elevated heart rate) 6 weeks post-stress compared to adolescent physical stress. Hence, mental health care in adolescence and therapies targeting PAB and heart rate could be prevention and treatment approaches to confront persistent adolescent stress-induced disorders. Lay summaryThe aim of our study on female laboratory rats was to differentiate disparate potency of chronic psychological and physical stresses in adolescence leading to long-term behavioral and physiological alterations. The results suggest that psychological stresses result in a greater extent of changes compared to physical stress. Adolescent chronic psychological stress may reveal itself in the form of certain behavioral and physiological variations in adulthood. Therefore, mental health care in adolescence could be a valuable prevention approach to confront a variety of adult stress-induced disorders.