Effects of maternal arginine supplementation during lactation on offspring growth and wound healing in an experimental rat model of intrauterine malnutrition.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the effects of maternal arginine-enriched diet during lactation, following gestational undernutrition, on offspring growth and wound healing.

METHODS

Pregnant Wistar rats were divided into two groups during gestation: control (C; ad libitum diet) and undernourished (Und; 60% of control diet). After delivery, the undernourished mothers were reassigned to two subgroups: ad libitum + Impact® (Arg) and ad libitum + Nutren® (Hh). Evaluated parameters included offspring anthropometric measurements, serum albumin, tensile strength, and collagen morphometry at the surgical wound. Statistical analyses included analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey's, Student's t-test, and Fisher's test.

RESULTS

Maternal immunonutrition during lactation promoted recovery of offspring weight (C = 29.21 ± 2.86 g; Arg = 36.08 ± 5.38 g; p = 0.0009) and body length (C = 9.87 ± 0.32 cm; Arg = 10.91 ± 0.73 cm; p = 0.0008), shifting values from significantly lower at birth to higher than controls by weaning. Offspring healing parameters showed no significant differences compared with controls.

CONCLUSION

An arginine-enriched diet provided to lactating rats malnourished during gestation significantly improved offspring anthropometric growth and supported wound healing following surgery at weaning.