A Combination Supplement of Fructo- and Xylo-Oligosaccharides Significantly Abrogates Oxidative Impairments and Neurotoxicity in Maternal/Fetal Milieu Following Gestational Exposure to Acrylamide in Rat

Prebiotic oligosaccharides are demonstrated to
confer a wide spectrum of physiological benefits during
pregnancy. In view of this, focused attempts are being
directed towards understanding their role as modulators of
brain chemistry and behavior. Epidemiological studies have
identified that exposure to neurotoxins during prenatal/early
life can profoundly impact neurodevelopment/function. In
this context, we have tested the hypothesis that a combination
of prebiotic supplements during gestation has the
propensity to attenuate acrylamide (ACR) induced oxidative
impairments, mitochondrial dysfunction and neurotoxicity
in maternal and fetal brain of rats. To achieve this, pregnant
dams given oral supplements of a combination of fructo- and
xylooligosaccharides (FOS ? XOS, 3 g/kg/day) during
gestation days (GD 0–19) were exposed toACR (200 ppm in
drinking water, GD 6–19). The behavioral analysis revealed
that ACR dams fed prebiotics displayed higher exploratory
behavior in the open field test. The prenatal evaluation
showed that ACR-induced decrements of placental/fetal
weights were markedly restored with prebiotic feeding.
Prebiotics significantly offset markers of oxidative stress,
restored enzymic antioxidants, cholinergic and mitochondrial
function in the maternal and fetal brain. Concomitantly,
prebiotics restored ACR-induced depletion in the levels of
dopamine and c-aminobutyric acid in the maternal cortex
that positively correlated with cecal bacterial numbers.
Collectively, these data suggest that prenatal prebiotic
oligosaccharide supplements protect developing brain
against oxidative stress-mediated neurotoxicity. While the
underlying mechanism/s by which prebiotics abrogate the
impact of neurotoxicants in the developing brain merits
further studies, we speculate that it may be mediated predominantly
through attenuation of oxidative stress and proliferation
of enteric microbiota.