Prolonged consumption of soy or fish-oil-enriched diets differentially affects the pattern of hypothalamic neuronal activation induced by refeeding in rats.

We used c-Fos immunoreactivity to estimate neuronal activation in hypothalamic feeding-regulatory areas of 3-month-old rats fed control or oil-enriched diets (soy or fish) since weaning. While no diet effect was observed in c-Fos immunoreactivity of 24-h fasted animals, the acute response to refeeding was modified by both hyperlipidic diets but with different patterns. Upon refeeding, control-diet rats had significantly increased c-Fos immunoreactivity only in the paraventricular hypothalamic nucleus (PVH, 142%).

n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in milk is associate to weight gain and growth in premature infants.

Background: Linoleic 18:2 (n-6) and alpha-linolenic 18:3 (n-3) essential fatty acids and long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA) are essential nutrients for growth and neonatal development. Consumption of preformed n-3 LC-PUFA has been shown to increase gestational duration and to decrease the incidence of premature birth in human studies. This study evaluated the association of essential fatty acids and LC-PUFA in breast milk on the growth of premature children (weight, height and head circumference).

Ethanol intake during lactation alters milk nutrient composition and growth and mineral status of rat pups.

Lactating Wistar rats were fed a liquid diet containing either ethanol [ethanol-fed group (EFG)] or an isocaloric amount of carbohydrate [pair-fed group (PFG)] from day 1 postpartum up to day 14 of lactation, to investigate micro/macronutrient milk composition and the mineral status of pups. EFG presented a reduction of daily milk production and milk composition was significantly higher in protein and lower in carbohydrate, while the lipid content was similar to that of PFG. When compared to PFG, the milk of EFG had a decreased proportion of C22:6 n-3 fatty acid and an increase in medium-chain fatty acids and of several minerals.

Dietary fatty acids early in life affect lipid metabolism and adiposity in young rats.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of four isoenergetic diets of differing fat composition on blood lipid profile and adiposity in young rats. Diets containing different lipid sources--partially hydrogenated vegetable oil (PHVO), palm oil (PO), canola oil (CO), and soy oil (SO)--were fed to lactating rats during the 21 days of lactation, and then fed to young males following weaning until the 45th day of life. In vivo lipogenesis rate (LR), lipid content (LC), relative level of FA, and the activity of lipoprotein lipase (LPL) enzyme were measured in epididymal adipose tissue (EPI).

Ethanol intake inhibits growth of the epithelium in the intestine of pregnant rats.

The effects of ethanol ingestion on jejunal and ileal epithelial cells were studied in pregnant rats by measuring crypt and villus cell population, crypt cell proliferation, and crypt cell cycle time as parameters. Timed-pregnancy female rats were fed a liquid diet containing either ethanol [designated as ethanol-fed group (EFG)] or an isocaloric amount of carbohydrate [designated as pair-fed group (PFG)] from gestational day 2 up to delivery. Daily diet ingestion, body weight, nitrogen balance, and nitrogen digestibility were assessed during the gestational period.

Characterization of iron, copper and zinc levels in the colostrum of mothers of term and pre-term infants before and after pasteurization.

Pasteurization is a thermal treatment applied to the milk used in human milk banks so as to provoke the thermic inactivation of pathogenic micro-organisms, with the aim of avoiding contamination of milk that will be offered to new-born infants in clinical conditions very often demanding special care. The literature has very little data available relating to the effect of pasteurization on the concentration of oligo-elements in human milk. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of pasteurization on the concentrations of iron (Fe), copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) in the colostrum of mothers of pre-term (PT) and term (T) infants.