Submitted on April 11, 2008
Revised on May 28, 2008
Accepted on May 29, 2008
High multi-vitamin intake by Wistar rats during pregnancy results in increased food intake and components of the metabolic syndrome in the male offspring
Ignatius Man Yau Szeto1, Alfred Aziz, Paul J. Das, Ameer Y. Taha, Nobuhiko Okubo, Sandra Reza-Lopez1, Adria Giacca1, and G. Harvey Anderson1*
1 University of Toronto
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: harvey.anderson{at}utoronto.ca.
The effect of high multi-vitamin intake during pregnancy on the metabolic phenotype of rat offspring was investigated. Pregnant Wistar rats (n=10/group) were fed the AIN-93G diet with the recommended vitamin (RV) content or a ten-fold increase (high vitamin, HV). In Exp 1, male and female offspring were followed for 12 wk post-weaning, whereas in Exp 2, only males were followed for 28 wk. Body weight (BW) was measured weekly. Every 4 wk, after an overnight fast, food intake over 1-h was measured 30 min after a gavage of glucose or water. An oral glucose tolerance test was performed every 3 to 5 wk. Post-weaning fasting glucose, insulin, ghrelin, GLP-1, and systolic blood pressure (SBP) were measured. No difference in BW at birth or litter size was observed. Males born to HV dams had higher food intake (P<0.05), and at 28 wk post-weaning, 8% higher BW (P<0.05) and 27% higher fat pad mass (P<0.05). Food intake reduction after the glucose preload was nearly two-fold less in males born to HV dams at 12 wk post-weaning (P<0.05). Fasting glucose, insulin and ghrelin were 11%, 62% and 41% higher in males from HV dams at 14 wk post-weaning (P<0.05). Blood glucose response was 46% higher at 23 wk post-weaning (P<0.01), and SBP was 16% higher at 28 wk post-weaning (P<0.05). In conclusion, high multi-vitamin intake during pregnancy programmed the male offspring for the development of the components of metabolic syndrome in adulthood, possibly by its effects on central mechanisms of food intake control.
