Interactions between protein and vegetable oils in the maternal diet determine the programming of the insulin axis in the rat.

The available evidence suggests that metabolic control mechanisms are programmed early in life. Previous studies of pregnant rats fed low-protein diets have suggested that the vegetable oils used in the experimental diets influence the outcome. The present study investigated the offspring of female rats fed semi-synthetic diets containing either 180 or 90g casein/kg with 70 g/kg (w/w) of either corn oil or soya oil during gestation. During lactation, the dams received stock diet, and the offspring were subsequently weaned onto the stock diet. The offspring of dams fed the low-protein diets were smaller at birth. At 25 weeks of age, the offspring were subjected to an oral glucose tolerance test. In the offspring of dams fed the diet containing soya oil, the area under the insulin curve was affected by the protein content of the maternal diet. There was no effect of protein on the area under the insulin curve in the offspring of dams fed the diet prepared with corn oil. There were no differences in plasma glucose concentrations. The levels of mRNA for acetyl-CoA carboxylase- in the livers of female offspring were affected by the protein and oil content of the maternal diet. The level of carnitine palmitoyl transferase mRNA was affected by the protein content of the maternal diet. The present study suggests that PUFA in the maternal diet can interact with protein metabolism to influence the development of the offspring. This may involve the higher content of alpha-linolenic acid in soya oil compared with corn oil.