(PTFS01-01-25) Influence of Dietary Alpha-Lipoic Acid Supplementation During Obese Pregnancies on Maternal Postpartum Metabolic Health

Objectives: The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of dietary α-lipoic acid (LA; R enantiomer) supplementation in obese-complicated pregnancies on maternal postpartum body weight and metabolic health. We hypothesized that prenatal LA supplementation would reduce GWG in obese pregnancies and thus improve maternal postpartum health.

Methods: Forty-eight female Sprague-Dawley rats were randomized into three dietary groups throughout pre-pregnancy, gestation, and lactation: (i) a low-calorie control diet (CON); (ii) a high calorie obesity-inducing diet (HC); or (iii) the HC diet with 0.25% LA (HC+LA). Following offspring weaning, all mothers were switched to the CON diet for a postpartum period of 140 days to assess maternal body weight and markers of metabolic health.

Results: HC-fed mothers showed excessive (p < 0.05) gestational weight gain (GWG), higher (p < 0.05) postpartum body weight, reduced (p < 0.05) glycemic control (lower glucose:insulin ratio) and higher (p=0.06) hepatic cholesterol concentration versus CON mothers. In contrast, HC+LA mothers demonstrated lower (p < 0.05) body weight throughout the experimental period, primarily due to a marked reduction in GWG. Further, LA supplementation altered several aspects of lipid metabolism including a reduction in serum HDL-C and lowering of hepatic cholesterol which was partly mediated through a reduction in low-density lipoprotein receptor expression.

Conclusions: We conclude that maternal obesity during pregnancy leads to a longer-term detrimental impact on weight gain and glycemic control in the postpartum period, even after switching to a low-calorie diet. Maternal LA supplementation may be able to partially offset these effects, likely by protecting against excessive GWG during pregnancy.

Funding Sources: NIH R21 grant through the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (TCR).