Enriching the Maternal Diet in Long Chain N‐3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids Alters Lipid Metabolites and Adiposity in Broiler Chicks
Authors: Beckford Ronique , Howard Sarah , Das Suchita , Tester Abigail , Campagna Shawn , Whelan Jay , Wilson Jeanna , Voy Brynn 
Published: November 2023

Susceptibility to obesity begins very early in life. Embryonic adipose tissue development begins during a period in which maternal stores of dietary fatty acids are mobilized for use by growing tissues in the developing fetus. Both epidemiological and experimental studies associate a relatively high ratio of maternal n‐6:n‐3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) with increased adiposity in offspring, suggesting that a predisposition for obesity may be programmed by the types of fatty acids from which adipose tissue develops. We investigated this relationship using broiler chickens as a novel model for dietary programming of adipose development. In avians, the yolk supplies fatty acids to developing tissues, and the fatty acid composition of the yolk can be precisely manipulated by altering the hen's diet. We used this model to test the hypothesis that enriching developing adipose tissue in long chain n‐3 PUFA reduces adiposity compared to enrichment in n‐6 PUFA. Sixty broiler breeder hens were divided into two treatment groups that differed only in the source of fatty acids (either corn oil or fish oil; each 2% of kcals) provided in the diet. At the end of four weeks, fertilized eggs were collected and hatched, and all chicks were fed the same corn oil‐based broiler starter diet after hatch. At 7 and 14 days of age, chicks in each group were weighed, euthanized and blood, liver, breast, and subcutaneous and abdominal fat samples harvested. Gas chromatography and mass spectrometry were used to define the effects of diet on fatty acid profiles of tissue triglyceride, free fatty acid and phospholipid pools. Mixed model ANOVA and least square means were used to identify effects of maternal diet and age‐diet interactions (SAS v9.4, Cary NC) on chick phenotypes. Metaboanalyst (v 3.0) was used to analyze lipidomics data. Maternal diet significantly altered the fatty acid profile of offspring phospholipids and total lipids in muscle and adipose tissue at both seven and 14 days of age (p<0.05). Both DHA and EPA were enriched in adipose tissue and muscle phospholipids from chicks hatched from hens consuming fish oil, while species containing arachidonic acid were enriched in the corn oil group. Chicks hatched from fish oil‐fed hens had significantly reduced adiposity (fat pad weight/body weight) for both abdominal and subcutaneous depots (p<0.05). Effects of diet were more apparent at 14 days than at seven days of age (diet * age interaction, p<0.05). There were no significant effects of maternal diet on offspring glycemia or lipolysis at either age (p>0.05). Metabolomics profiling identified lipid species that were altered significantly by diet. These results suggest that enriching the maternal diet in long chain n‐3 PUFA programs offspring towards reduced adiposity, which may provide protection against childhood obesity.

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