Diet Enriched in Olive Oil Attenuates Placental Dysfunction in Rats with Gestational Diabetes Induced by Intrauterine Programming.

EVANGELINA CAPOBIANCO; DALMIRO GOMEZ RIBOT; DAIANA FORNES; THERESA L POWELL; CECILIA LEVIEUX; THOMAS JANSSON; ALICIA JAWERBAUM

Molecular Nutrition and Food Research

Weinheim, Germany

Año: 2018

Scope: Offspring from rats with mild diabetes develop gestational diabetes (GDM). We tested the hypothesis that an olive oil-supplemented diet attenuates maternal and fetal hyperglycemia, placental oxidative stress/inflammation, activation of mTOR signaling and inhibition of PPAR and fetal overgrowth in GDM offspring from mild diabetic rats. Methods and results: Female offspring from rats with mild diabetes (group that developed GDM) and controls were fed with either a standard diet or a 6% olive oil-supplemented diet during pregnancy. On day 21 of pregnancy, plasma glucose levels in mothers and fetuses were increased in the GDM group independently of the diet. Fetal overgrowth and activation of placental mTOR signaling were partially prevented in the olive oil-treated GDM group. Placental PPARγ protein expression was decreased in GDM rats independently of the diet. However, increases in placental lipoperoxidation, connective tissue growth factor and matrix metalloproteinase 2 levels were prevented by the olive oil-enriched diet. Conclusion: Diets enriched in olive oil attenuate placental dysfunction and fetal overgrowth in rats with GDM induced by intrauterine programming. These findings may have implications for women with GDM given that dietary supplementation with olive oil is feasible in humans.