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

Venegas Silva, Gabriel Andres

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

dc.contributor.advisor	Reimer, Raylene A.
dc.contributor.author	Venegas Silva, Gabriel Andres
dc.contributor.committeemember	Shearer, Jane
dc.contributor.committeemember	Thompson, Jennifer A.
dc.date	2024-11
dc.date.accessioned	2024-09-19T20:24:08Z
dc.date.available	2024-09-19T20:24:08Z
dc.date.issued	2024-09-17
dc.description.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.
dc.identifier.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.
dc.identifier.uri	https://hdl.handle.net/1880/119812
dc.language.iso	en
dc.publisher.faculty	Graduate Studies
dc.publisher.institution	University of Calgary
dc.rights	University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.
dc.subject	Obesity
dc.subject	Artificial sweeteners
dc.subject	Aspartame
dc.subject	Prebiotic fiber
dc.subject	Insulin resistance
dc.subject	Gut microbiota
dc.subject.classification	Education--Health
dc.subject.classification	Nutrition
dc.subject.classification	Genetics
dc.title	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
dc.type	master thesis
thesis.degree.discipline	Kinesiology
thesis.degree.grantor	University of Calgary
thesis.degree.name	Master of Science (MSc)
ucalgary.thesis.accesssetbystudent	I do not require a thesis withhold – my thesis will have open access and can be viewed and downloaded publicly as soon as possible.