Work

Effect of maternal cafeteria diet and taurine supplementation on plasma amino acid profile in adult offspring rats

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Aim: Maternal taurine supplementation has been shown to exert protective effects following a maternal cafeteria diet on offspring growth and metabolism. However, the long-term effects of maternal cafeteria diet on offspring’s metabolism and energy substrates remain unclear. This study aimed to examine the effects of maternal cafeteria diet supplemented with taurine on plasma amino acid profile in adult offspring rats.Subjects and Method: Female Wistar rats (aged 4 weeks) were randomly allocated to be fed either a control chow diet (CON; n = 6), control chow diet supplemented with 1.5% taurine in drinking water (CONT; n = 7), cafeteria diet (CAF; n = 7), or cafeteria diet supplemented with 1.5% taurine in drinking water (CAFT; n = 7) for 8 weeks. Females were paired with a Wistar stud male, and mating was confirmed by the appearance of a semen plug. After weaning all offspring were fed a commercial chow diet until 20 weeks of age. At the age of 20 weeks, all offspring were culled and blood samples were taken by cardiac puncture. Results: Male offspring had significantly higher plasma amino acid concentrations in comparison to female offspring (Effect of sex, P0.05). Similarly, non-essential amino acids exhibited alike results in adult male offspring (Effect of maternal diet, P>0.05). Plasma essential and non-essential amino acid concentrations were also similar in female offspring which indicated neither maternal diet nor taurine supplementation did not influence amino acid profile in adult offspring. Conclusion: Maternal diet plays a crucial role in shaping the plasma metabolites of offspring, which in turn affects their growth, metabolism, and health. Although current study did not show any significant results on plasma amino acid levels due to possible effects of longer post-weaning period, prolonged chow diet feeding or adapted effects to maternal programming, future studies will continue to investigate the effects of maternal taurine supplementation on amino acid and protein metabolism in the setting of maternal obesity.

Source: DergiPark (Istanbul University)

Authors: Kabasakal Çetin, Arzu, Güleç, Atila, Akyol Mutlu, Aslı

Institution: Hacettepe University

Language: English

Topic: Birth, Development, and Health

Subfield: Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDGs: Zero hunger, Good health and well-being

Open Access status: green

Funders: Türkiye Bilimsel ve Teknolojik Araştırma Kurumu, Hacettepe Üniversitesi

Awards: G1018473862, Maternal Obezite ve Taurin Suplemantasyonunun Gebelik, Fetal Büyüme ve Gelisim Üzerine Etkileri