Maternal dietary imbalance between omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids triggers the offspring's overeating in mice.

The increasing prevalence of obesity and its effects on our society warrant intensifying basic animal research for understanding why habitual intake of highly palatable foods has increased due to recent global environmental changes. Here, we report that pregnant mice that consume a diet high in omega-6 (n-6) polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and low in omega-3 (n-3) PUFAs (an n-6/n-3 diet), whose n-6/n-3 ratio is approximately 120, induces hedonic consumption in the offspring by upregulating the midbrain dopaminergic system. We found that exposure to the n-6/n-3 diet specifically increases the consumption of palatable foods via increased mesolimbic dopamine release.

Evaluation of the anti-hyperglycemic effect and safety of microorganism 1-deoxynojirimycin.

1-Deoxynojirimycin (DNJ) is a potent α-glucosidase inhibitor and thus beneficial for prevention of diabetes. While we have succeeded in obtaining the culture supernatant extract (CSE) rich in DNJ from microorganism source, information regarding its anti-hyperglycemic effect and safety were still limited. Therefore, this study was aimed to evaluate the anti-hyperglycemic effect and safety of microorganism DNJ.

High-fat Diet Increases Phospholipid Peroxidation in the Liver of Mature Fischer 344 Rats.

Phospholipid peroxidation is considered to be involved in the pathophysiology of various diseases. While dietary antioxidants are believed to help prevent these diseases via inhibition of phospholipid peroxidation, further evaluation is needed to prove this hypothesis. For this, it is crucial to establish an animal model with accelerated phospholipid peroxidation.