Potential for Prebiotic Fiber to Attenuate Obesity Risk and Insulin Resistance in Rat Offspring Exposed to a Maternal Obesogenic Diet with Low-Dose Aspartame Consumption
Date
2024-09-17
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Abstract
Maternal diet during pregnancy has a lasting impact on offspring health. Our objective was to examine if offspring postnatal oligofructose prebiotic fibre (Pre) intake could mitigate metabolic risks of a maternal obesogenic diet plus aspartame (APM) consumption. Following 11 weeks of obesity induction, female Sprague-Dawley rats (n=29) were randomized during pregnancy and lactation to a high fat/sucrose (HFS) diet with water control (CTR) or HFS with APM (7mg/kg/day) in drinking water. Offspring of each maternal group were weaned onto the following four groups: CTR-CTR, APM-CTR, CTR-Pre, and APM-Pre from 3-12 weeks of age. Energy intake, body weight, fecal microbiota, and metabolic outcomes including body composition, glucose tolerance, and liver triglycerides were assessed in dams and offspring. Metabolic disturbances were not observed in APM dams yet maternal APM exposure with HFS diet increased hepatic triglyceride levels (p=0.046) and influenced gut microbiota beta diversity (p=0.029) in 3-week old weanlings, and increased body weight in young male offspring at 4-5 weeks of age (p<0.05). By week 12, females in the APM-Pre group had lower body weight (p=0.046), greater (%) lean mass (p=0.044), reduced (%) body fat (p=0.047) compared to CTR-CTR; The female APM-Pre group also had greater (%) lean mass (p=0.006) and reduced (%) body fat (p=0.009) than the APM-CTR group. Postnatal Pre intake improved glucose tolerance and AUC in males (p<0.001) with no effect in females and worsened insulin sensitivity in APM-Pre females (p<0.05) relative to CTR-CTR females with no effect in males. In adult offspring, Pre intake reduced alpha diversity (p<0.001), affected beta diversity (p<0.001), and increased the relative abundance of Bifidobacterium, Blautia, and Streptococcus while decreasing 5 other bacteria including Romboutsia. Maternal APM intake with an HFS diet may disrupt weight homeostasis, increase hepatic triglycerides and gut microbiota in young offspring with no effect of APM seen in later life. Postnatal Pre intake by offspring exposed to a maternal obesogenic diet is linked to lower body weight and improved body composition predominantly seen in female rats with improved glucose control seen in adult male rats. Noticeable shifts in gut microbiota secondary to Pre consumption may mediate these changes.
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Keywords
Obesity, Artificial sweeteners, Aspartame, Prebiotic fiber, Insulin resistance, Gut microbiota
Citation
Venegas Silva, G. A. (2024). Potential for prebiotic fiber to attenuate obesity risk and insulin resistance in rat offspring exposed to a maternal obesogenic diet with low-dose aspartame consumption (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.