Somatic Changes of Maternal High-Fat Diet on Offspring—Possible Deleterious Effects of Flavonoids?

<b>Background/Objectives</b>: The rapidly increasing rate of obesity has become an extremely important public health problem, particularly in developed countries. Obesity is associated with a range of health problems, often referred to as the metabolic syndrome. Adipose tissue is now regarded as an endocrine organ responsible for the hormonal secretion of adipokines, which are cytokines involved in various physiological processes. It has been established that adipokines play a key role in the regulation of many processes in the human body. The aim of the current study was to use an animal model to investigate the possible influence of obesity and adipokines on the gestational period, on the development of offspring, and to assess whether these changes are influenced by the administration of antioxidant agents and flavonoids. <b>Methods</b>: The present study was performed using 5 groups of 7 female Wistar albino rats. A control group was used to which a 5% lipid diet was administered, and the other 4 groups were fed an obesogenic 65% lipid diet. From the 4 groups that received obesogenic diet one group received no supplement, and the rest of 3 received Detralex, Sel-E-Vit and Rutin (antioxidants and flavonoids). Study times for both pregnant groups and offsprings: on day 15 of gestation, venous blood was drawn to determine adipokine (leptin and visfatin) levels; on days 18-22 ultrasound examination was performed to measure the thickness of adipose tissue in the abdominal wall; for each batch a number of 10 offspring were selected for the measurements (pup weight, brain weight, head length, head width, spine length, width between shoulder blades, coxal bone length), adipokine levels in the offspring (from brain tissue) were also determined, as well as the existence of changes in the brain tissue of the offspring identified by electron microscopy. <b>Results</b>: The results of the study showed that the high-fat diet (HFD) led to a significant increase in body weight and abdominal wall thickness in pregnant females compared to the control group. The levels of leptin and visfatin were also affected by the HFD, with leptin levels being significantly higher in the HFD group and visfatin levels being lower. In the offspring, the HFD group had a significantly higher body mass and brain weight compared to the control group. The anthropometric measurements of the offspring were also affected by the maternal diet, with the HFD group having larger dimensions overall. Interestingly, the offspring of the groups that received flavonoids in addition to the HFD had significantly smaller dimensions compared to both the HFD group and the control group. <b>Conclusions</b>: The results of this experimental study reinforce what is already known about the effects of obesity on the gestation period and offspring and at the same time, the current study highlights the existence of possible adverse effects of flavonoid compounds on the development of pregnancy and offspring, opening the way for future studies on the benefits and risks of using these compounds during gestational period.