Effects of different vegetable oils in the maternal diet during pregnancy on the somatic and sensory-motor development in neonates rats

Abstract

Recent studies suggest that maternal diet during periods of pregnancy and/or lactation can cause changes morphofunctional on the nervous system of offspring, and is considered an important inducer of the "programming". In addition, maternal exposure to obesogenic diets (eg. high-fat diet) can permanently alter brain structure and function of the offspring. Therefore, the present study will investigate indicators of somatic and sensory-motor development in the offspring of rats female exposed to high-fat diets (with different sources of fatty acids) during pregnancy (1st to 21st days - pre-natal). Will be used newborn male Wistar rats divided into 4 groups, according to the maternal diet: 1. control diet, 2. high-fat diet with lard; 3. high-fat diet with soybean oil and 4. high-fat diet with canola oil. The indicators of development will be assessed during the lactation period (1st to 21st days postnatal) and were characterized as follows: 1) somatic development (body weight, body length, medio-lateral and and anteroposterior head axes) 2) maturation of physical characteristics (openings of the ear, ear canal, eyes, and eruption of incisors teeth) and 3) ontogeny of reflexes (palm grasp, righting, vibrissa placing, cliff avoidance, negative geotaxis, startle response and free fall righting). (AU)