Maternal Docosahexaenoic Acid Supplementation Alters Maternal and Fetal Docosahexaenoic Acid Status and Placenta Phospholipids in Pregnancies Complicated by High Body Mass Index.

Publisher: MDPI Publishing Country of Publication: Switzerland NLM ID: 101521595 Publication Model: Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 2072-6643 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 20726643 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Nutrients Subsets: MEDLINE

Original Publication: Basel, Switzerland : MDPI Publishing

Docosahexaenoic Acids*/administration & dosage ; Docosahexaenoic Acids*/blood ; Dietary Supplements* ; Placenta*/metabolism ; Body Mass Index* ; Phospholipids*/blood ; Fetal Blood*/chemistry ; Fetal Blood*/metabolism; Humans ; Female ; Pregnancy ; Adult ; Erythrocytes/metabolism ; Young Adult ; Pregnancy Complications ; Fetus/metabolism ; Choline/administration & dosage ; Choline/blood ; Maternal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena

Introduction: An optimal fetal supply of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is critical for normal brain development. The relationship between maternal DHA intake and DHA delivery to the fetus is complex and is dependent on placental handling of DHA. Little data exist on placental DHA levels in pregnancies supplemented with the recommended dose of 200 mg/d. Our objective was to determine how prenatal DHA at the recommended 200 mg/d impacts maternal, placental, and fetal DHA status in both normal-weight and high-BMI women compared to women taking no supplements.
Methods: Maternal blood, placenta, and cord blood were collected from 30 healthy pregnant women (BMI 18.9-43.26 kg/m ² ) giving birth at term. Red blood cells (RBCs) and villous tissue were isolated, and lipids were extracted to determine DHA content by LC-MS/MS. Data were analyzed by supplement group (0 vs. 200 mg/d) and maternal BMI (normal weight or high BMI) using two-way ANOVA. We measured maternal choline levels in maternal and cord plasma samples.
Results: Supplementation with 200 mg/d DHA significantly increased ( p < 0.05) maternal and cord RBC DHA content only in pregnancies complicated by high BMI. We did not find any impact of choline levels on maternal or cord RBC phospholipids. There were no significant differences in total placental DHA content by supplementation or maternal BMI ( p > 0.05). Placental levels of phosphatidylinositol (PI) and phosphatidic acid containing DHA species were higher ( p < 0.05) in high-BMI women without DHA supplementation compared to both normal-BMI and high-BMI women taking DHA supplements.
Conclusion: Maternal DHA supplementation at recommended doses cord increased RBC DHA content only in pregnancies complicated by higher BMI. Surprisingly, we found that obesity was related to an increase in placental PI and phosphatidic acid species, which was ameliorated by DHA supplementation. Phosphatidic acid activates placental mTOR, which regulates amino acid transport and may explain previous findings of the impact of DHA on placental function. Current recommendations for DHA supplementation may not be achieving the goal of improving fetal DHA levels in normal-weight women.

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HD104644 United States GF NIH HHS; T32DK007658 training grant; P30DK048520 Colorado Nutrition Obesity Research Center

Keywords: choline; fatty acids; fetal development; maternal–fetal exchange; omega-3

25167-62-8 (Docosahexaenoic Acids)
0 (Phospholipids)
N91BDP6H0X (Choline)

Date Created: 20240914 Date Completed: 20240914 Latest Revision: 20240916

20240916

PMC11397315

10.3390/nu16172934

39275250