Maternal and neonatal dietary intake of balanced n‑6/n‑3 fatty acids modulates experimental colitis in young adult rats

Background The imbalance of n-6 and n-3 polyunsaturated
fatty acids in the maternal diet impairs intestinal
barrier development and sensitizes the colon response to
inflammatory insults in the young rats. With a view to overcoming
this issue, we designed this study to investigate the
effect of maternal and neonatal intake of different proportions
of n-6/n-3 fatty acids on colon inflammation in the
young adult rats.
Methods Female Wistar rats were assigned into four
groups, and each group fed one of four semisynthetic
diets, namely n-6, low n-3, n-6/n-3 and n-3 fatty acids
for 8 weeks prior to mating, during gestation and lactation
periods. At weaning, the pups were separated from
the dams and fed diet similar to the mothers. Colitis was
induced on postnatal day 35, by administering 2 % dextran
sulfate sodium in drinking water for 10 days. Colitis was
assessed based on the clinical and inflammatory markers in
the colon. Fatty acid analysis was done in liver, RBC, colon
and spleen.
Results A balanced n-6/n-3 PUFA diet significantly
improved the body weight loss, rectal bleeding and mortality
in rats. This was associated with lower myeloperoxidase
activity, nitric oxide, prostaglandin E2, TNF-α and
IL-6, IL-8, COX-2 and iNOS levels in the colon tissues.
Fatty acid analysis has shown that the arachidonic acid/
docosahexaenoic acid ratio was significantly lower in liver,
RBC, colon and spleen in n-6/n-3 and n-3 diet groups.
Conclusion We demonstrate that balanced n-6/n-3 PUFA
supplementation in maternal and neonatal diet alters systemic
AA/DHA ratio and attenuates colon inflammation in
the young adult rats.