Maternal exposure to high-fat diet modifies anxiety-like/depression-like behaviors and compounds of Serotonergic System in offspring: A preclinical systematic review.

Maternal nutrition affects offspring physiology and behavior including susceptibility to mental health-related states. Perinatal high-fat diet (HFD) consumption has been associated with lower levels of serotonin as well as the development of anxiety-like and depression-like behaviors in offspring. The aim of this systematic review was to investigate the effects of maternal HFD during pregnancy and/or lactation on these behaviors and on some aspects of the serotonergic system. Criteria for eligibility included studies of offspring of rodents and non-human primates exposed to HFD at least during pregnancy and/or lactation, offspring that showed outcomes related to anxiety-like and depression-like behaviors and to the serotonergic system. The searches were realized in the LILACS, Web of Science, Scopus, and PubMed databases. The systematic review protocol was registered on the CAMARADES website. The internal validity was assessed by the SYRCLE risk of bias tool. The Kappa index was used for analyzing agreement among the reviewers. In addition, the PRISMA statement was used to report this systematic review. Sixteen articles were included in this review. Most of which studied HFD prior to mating and during pregnancy and lactation. All studies analyzed outcomes related to emotional behavior; three analyzed outcomes related to serotonin system compounds. Maternal consumption of HFD was found to be associated with an inconsistent pattern of the expression of TPH2 as well as reduced the immunoreactivity of 5-HT in the prefrontal cortex and increased 5-HT1A receptor expression in the dorsal raphe of offspring. An association between an HFD and alterations in emotional behavior was found in most of the studies selected.

Neonatal administration of kaempferol does not alter satiety but increases somatic growth and reduces adiposity in offspring of high-fat diet dams.

AIM: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of maternal exposure to a high-fat diet associated with neonatal administration of kaempferol on somatic growth, biochemical profile and feeding behavior in offspring. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Wistar rats were distributed according to diet during pregnancy and lactation into Control (C; 3.4 kcal/g; 12% kcal/lipids) or High-fat (HFD; 4.6 kcal/g; 51% kcal/lipids) groups. In the offspring, vehicle (V) or kaempferol (K, 1 mg/kg) were administered from the 8th until the 21st postnatal day (PND). Maternal body weight (BW), caloric intake and adiposity were measured. In the offspring, somatic growth parameters were evaluated on the 7th, 14th, 21st, 25th and 30th PND, except for BW, which was measured from the 8th to the 21st and from the 25th to the 30th PND. Feeding behavior was assessed by food intake and behavioral satiety sequence (BSS) on the 30th PND. The biochemical profile and relative weight of adipose tissue of offspring were also measured. KEY FINDINGS: Dams exposed to HFD showed no difference in body weight and caloric intake but exhibited increased adiposity. Neonatal administration of kaempferol increased body weight after weaning and somatic growth in the offspring of HFD dams. Neonatal kaempferol also reduced adiposity and serum creatinine levels in offspring. Neither maternal diet nor kaempferol altered offspring feeding behavior. SIGNIFICANCE: Neonatal administration of kaempferol promotes increased somatic growth post-weaning, reduces adiposity, and does not alter feeding behavior in offspring from high-fat dams.