Bovine Milk Whey Intake in Offspring Rats Shows Restorative Metabolic Effects Against Negative Fetal Programming Induced by Maternal Obesity

Maternal obesity has been associated with offspring fetal programming, increasing the risk of developing chronic diseases in adulthood, including type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and behavioral disorders such as anxiety and depression. Milk whey (MW) peptides, administered as a supplement, reduce food intake and body weight in overweight rodents. The aim of this work was to study the possible metabolic and behavioral restorative effects of a bovine MW supplement against the negative fetal programming of juvenile offspring. Dam Wistar rats were fed during gestation and lactation with a standard (SD) or a hypercaloric diet (HD); after weaning, the male offspring were fed SD or SD and MW. HD dams showed increases in blood cholesterol, body weight, and calorie intake, while administering MW in offspring from HD mothers reduced these alterations. Serum corticosterone, LDL cholesterol, fasting blood glucose, and glucose intolerance were significantly higher in offspring from HD dams; however, MW did not affect these changes. Offspring from HD dams showed signs of anxiety that were not reversed by MW, as well as a reduction in hippocampal BDNF that was partially restored with MW. Maternal HD consumption during pregnancy and lactation elicited negative developmental programming of adult offspring metabolism, which was partially restored by bovine MW supplementation.