Maternal Vitamin C Intake during Pregnancy Influences Long-Term Offspring Growth with Timing- and Sex-Specific Effects in Guinea Pigs

Our previous work in guinea pigs revealed that low vitamin C intake during preconception and pregnancy adversely affects fertility, pregnancy outcomes, and foetal and neonatal growth in a sex-dependent manner. To investigate the long-term impact on offspring, we monitored their growth from birth to adolescence (four months), recorded organ weights at childhood equivalence (28 days) and adolescence, and assessed physiological parameters like oral glucose tolerance and basal cortisol concentrations. We also investigated the effects of the timing of maternal vitamin C restriction (early vs. late gestation) on pregnancy outcomes and the health consequences for offspring. Dunkin Hartley guinea pigs were fed an optimal (900 mg/kg feed) or low (100 mg/kg feed) vitamin C diet ad libitum during preconception. Pregnant dams were then randomised into four feeding regimens: consistently optimal, consistently low, low during early pregnancy, or low during late pregnancy. We found that low maternal vitamin C intake during early pregnancy accelerated foetal and neonatal growth in female offspring and altered glucose homeostasis in the offspring of both sexes at an age equivalent to early childhood. Conversely, low maternal vitamin C intake during late pregnancy resulted in foetal growth restriction and reduced weight gain in male offspring throughout their lifespan. We conclude that altered vitamin C during development has long-lasting, sex-specific consequences for offspring and that the timing of vitamin C depletion is also critical, with low levels during early development being associated with the development of a metabolic syndrome-related phenotype, while later deprivation appears to be linked to a growth-faltering phenotype.

Effects of Low Vitamin C Intake on Fertility Parameters and Pregnancy Outcomes in Guinea Pigs

Identifying how specific nutrients can impact fertility, pregnancy, and neonatal outcomes will yield important insights into the biological mechanisms linking diet and reproductive health. Our study investigates how dietary vitamin C intake affects various fertility parameters and pregnancy and neonatal outcomes in the guinea pig, a natural model of vitamin C dependency. Dunkin Hartley guinea pigs were fed an optimal (900 mg/kg feed) or low (100 mg/kg feed) vitamin C diet ad libitum for at least three weeks prior to mating and throughout pregnancy. We found that animals receiving the low vitamin C diet had an increased number of unsuccessful matings, a higher incidence of foetal reabsorption, and, among pregnancies resulting in delivery at term, produced fewer offspring. Neonates from mothers on the low vitamin C diet had significantly decreased plasma vitamin C concentrations at birth and exhibited mild growth impairments in a sex-dependent manner. We conclude that a diet low of vitamin C induces a state of subfertility, reduces overall fecundity, and adversely impacts both pregnancy outcomes and growth in the offspring. Our study provides an essential foundation for future investigations to determine whether these findings translate to humans. If so, they could have important clinical implications for assisted reproductive technologies and nutritional recommendations for couples trying to conceive, pregnant women, and breastfeeding mothers.