Maternal supplementation with a complex milk lipid mixture during pregnancy and lactation alters neonatal brain lipid composition but lacks effect on cognitive function in rats.

Abstract Complex milk lipids (CMLs) provide a critical nutritional source for generating both energy and essential nutrients for the growth of the newborn. The present study investigated nutritional supplementation with a CML containing gangliosides and phospholipids in pregnant and lactating rats on learning behavior and postnatal growth in male offspring. Wistar female rats were supplemented during pregnancy and lactation with either control or CML to provide gangliosides at a dose of 0.01% (low) and 0.05% (high) based on total food intake. The CML-supplemented dams showed no differences in comparison to controls regarding growth, food intake, and litter characteristics. There were significant differences in brain composition in male offspring at postnatal day 2 (P2) with higher concentrations of gangliosides (high dose, P P