The Journal of Nutrition Vol. 127 No. 3 March 1997, pp. 458-462
Copyright ©1997 by the American Society for Nutritional Sciences

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

Manuscript received 14 December 1995. Initial reviews completed 16 February 1996. Revision accepted 24 September 1996.

Unidad de Investigación en Nutrición, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Apartado Postal 7-1069, México, DF 06700

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.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				Y. Tozuka, E. Wada, and K. Wada Diet-induced obesity in female mice leads to peroxidized lipid accumulations and impairment of hippocampal neurogenesis during the early life of their offspring FASEB J, June 1, 2009; 23(6): 1920 - 1934. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. Mitra, K. M. Alvers, E. M. Crump, and N. E. Rowland Effect of high-fat diet during gestation, lactation, or postweaning on physiological and behavioral indexes in borderline hypertensive rats Am J Physiol Regulatory Integrative Comp Physiol, January 1, 2009; 296(1): R20 - R28. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S J Henare, D J Mellor, R G Lentle, and P J Moughan An appraisal of the strengths and weaknesses of newborn and juvenile rat models for researching gastrointestinal development Lab Anim, July 1, 2008; 42(3): 231 - 245. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				B. E Levin Metabolic imprinting: critical impact of the perinatal environment on the regulation of energy homeostasis Phil Trans R Soc B, July 29, 2006; 361(1471): 1107 - 1121. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. A. Akohoue, J. B. Green, and M. H. Green Dietary Vitamin A Has Both Chronic and Acute Effects on Vitamin A Indices in Lactating Rats and Their Offspring J. Nutr., January 1, 2006; 136(1): 128 - 132. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. A. Armitage, P. D. Taylor, and L. Poston Experimental models of developmental programming: consequences of exposure to an energy rich diet during development J. Physiol., May 15, 2005; 565(1): 3 - 8. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. Ringseis, D. Saal, A. Muller, H. Steinhart, and K. Eder Dietary Conjugated Linoleic Acids Lower the Triacylglycerol Concentration in the Milk of Lactating Rats and Impair the Growth and Increase the Mortality of their Suckling Pups J. Nutr., December 1, 2004; 134(12): 3327 - 3334. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				K. M. Rasmussen Effects of Under- and Overnutrition on Lactation in Laboratory Rats J. Nutr., February 1, 1998; 128(2): 390 - 390. [Abstract] [Full Text]