Acceleration of reflex maturation and physical development in suckling rats: effects of a maternal diet containing lipids from goat milk.

Objective: To investigate the effects of lipids from goat milk containing conjugated linoleic acids on body weight and reflex ontogeny of neonatal rats treated during the prenatal and suckling periods.

Methods: Three groups were studied: soybean oil (S), coconut oil (C), and goat milk lipids (GM). Reflex maturation (palm grasp, righting reflex, cliff avoidance, vibrissae placing, negative geotaxis, auditory startle, and free-fall righting) as well as body weight evolution were recorded during lactation.

Conjugated linoleic acid in the maternal diet differentially enhances growth and cortical spreading depression in the rat progeny.

Background: Conjugated linoleic acids (CLA) are fatty acids that are found in the lipids from goat milk, and appear to protect neurons from excitotoxicity.

Methods: We investigated in developing rats the effects of a maternal CLA-rich diet (containing 7% lipids from goat milk) on body development and cerebral electrical activity of the progeny from dams receiving the CLA diet during gestation (G), lactation (L) or both periods (G+L).

Results: Compared to a control group (C) receiving a diet with 7% soybean oil, body weight increased at 14, 21 and 28 days, but not at 35-45 days, in L and G+L groups (P<0.

Bacteria and Archaea community structure in the rumen microbiome of goats (Capra hircus) from the semiarid region of Brazil.

Most studies present in the literature about the rumen microbiome have focused on cattle and sheep. This is the first report of the characterization of the bacterial and archaeal communities present in the liquid and solid-associated fractions of the rumen from free ranging Moxotó breed goats using 16S rRNA gene libraries. PCR was used to amplify the 16S rRNA gene with bacterial and archaeal universal primers and sequences from each library constructed were obtained.

An early fish oil-enriched diet reverses biochemical, liver and adipose tissue alterations in male offspring from maternal protein restriction in mice.

Fetal programming is linked to adulthood metabolic and chronic diseases. We hypothesized that early fish oil (FO) intake would revert the programming responses in adult offspring. Pregnant mice were fed either standard chow (SC) or a low-protein diet (LP) throughout pregnancy/lactation.