While having the highest vitamin C (VitC) concentrations in the body, specific functions of VitC in the brain have only recently been acknowledged. We have shown that postnatal VitC deficiency in guinea pigs causes impairment of hippocampal memory function and leads to 30% less neurons. This study investigates how prenatal VitC deficiency affects postnatal hippocampal development and if any such effect can be reversed by postnatal VitC repletion. Eighty pregnant Dunkin Hartley guinea pig dams were randomized into weight stratified groups receiving High (900 mg) or Low (100 mg) VitC per kg diet. Newborn pups (n = 157) were randomized into a total of four postnatal feeding regimens: High/High (Control); High/Low (Depleted), Low/Low (Deficient); and Low/High (Repleted). Proliferation and migration of newborn cells in the dentate gyrus was assessed by BrdU labeling and hippocampal volumes were determined by stereology. Prenatal VitC deficiency resulted in a significant reduction in postnatal hippocampal volume (P<0.001) which was not reversed by postnatal repletion. There was no difference in postnatal cellular proliferation and survival rates in the hippocampus between dietary groups, however, migration of newborn cells into the granular layer of the hippocampus dentate gyrus was significantly reduced in prenatally deficient animals (P<0.01). We conclude that a prenatal VitC deficiency in guinea pigs leads to persistent impairment of postnatal hippocampal development which is not alleviated by postnatal repletion. Our findings place attention on a yet unrecognized consequence of marginal VitC deficiency during pregnancy.

Although no clinical differences between CTRL and DEF pups were observed at GD56, the present data suggest that vitC plays a role in early fetal development. Although no clinical differences between CTRL and DEF pups were observed at GD56, the present data suggest that vitC plays a role in early fetal development. Low maternal vitC intake during pregnancy may compromise maternal weight gain, placental function and intrauterine development.

Human and guinea pig fetuses are completely dependent on an adequate maternal vitamin C (vitC) intake. Shortage of micronutrients can have negative implications for fetal health and pregnancy outcome; however, knowledge of maternal vitC deficiency's impact on fetal development is sparse and reports of pregnancy outcome have been divergent. The present study investigated whether maternal vitC deficiency affects pregnancy outcome and plasma vitC distribution between the mother and the offspring in a guinea pig model. A total of eighty pregnant Dunkin Hartley guinea pigs were randomised into two weight-stratified groups receiving either a deficient (100 mg/kg DEF) or a control (923 mg/kg CTRL) diet. VitC levels were measured in plasma during pregnancy and postpartum, and in the plasma and brain of newborns. Pregnancy outcome was recorded with respect to birth weight and perinatal survival and were similar between groups. Plasma vitC in dams declined throughout gestation in both groups (P,0·01). Compared with maternal plasma vitC, plasma vitC of newborn pups was found to be significantly lower in the DEF group (P, 0·001) and higher in the CTRL group (P,0·001), respectively. Brain vitC levels were significantly reduced in DEF newborn pups (P,0·001). The present results indicate that preferential transport of vitC from the mother to the fetus is overridden during sustained maternal vitC deficiency, maintaining maternal vitC concentration at the expense of the offspring. This contradicts the notion that a fetus is protected from vitC deficiency by the placental Na-dependent vitC co-transporter, SVCT2, thus fetal development may be susceptible to the negative effects of maternal vitC deficiency.

Antioxidant defences are comparatively low during foetal development making the brain particularly susceptible to oxidative stress during antioxidant deficiencies. The brain is one of the organs containing the highest concentration of vitamin C (VitC) and VitC deficiency during foetal development may place the brain at risk of redox status imbalance. In the present study, we investigated the developmental pattern and effect of VitC deficiency on antioxidants, vitamin E and superoxide dismutase (SOD), assessed oxidative damage by measuring malondialdehyde (MDA), hydroxynonenal (HNE) and nitrotyrosine (NT) and analysed gene and protein expression of apoptosis marker caspase-3 in the guinea pig foetal brain at two gestational (GD) time points, GD 45/pre-term and GD 56/near term following either a VitC sufficient (CTRL) or deficient (DEF) maternal dietary regime. We show that except for SOD, antioxidants and oxidative damage markers are differentially expressed between the two GDs, with high VitC (p<0.0001), NT modified proteins (p<0.0001) and active caspase-3 levels (p<0.05) at pre-term and high vitamin E levels (p<0.0001), HNE (p<0.0001) and MDA (p<0.0001) at near term. VitC deficiency significantly increased SOD activity (p<0.0001) compared to CTRLs at both GDs indicating a compensatory response, however, low levels of VitC significantly elevated MDA levels (p<0.05) in DEF at near term. Our results show a differential regulation of the investigated markers during late gestation and suggest that immature brains are susceptible to oxidative stress due to prenatal vitC deficiency in spite of an induction of protective adaptation mechanisms.

Consumption of isoflavones may prevent adiposity, hepatic steatosis, and dyslipidaemia. However, studies in the area are few and primarily with genistein. This study investigated the effects of formononetin and its synthetic analogue, 2-heptyl-formononetin (C7F), on lipid and cholesterol metabolism in C57BL/6J mice. The mice were fed a cholesterol-enriched diet for five weeks to induce hypercholesterolemia and were then fed either the cholesterol-enriched diet or the cholesterol-enriched diet-supplemented formononetin or C7F for three weeks. Body weight and composition, glucose homeostasis, and plasma lipids were compared. In another experiment, mice were fed the above diets for five weeks, and hepatic triglyceride accumulation and gene expression and histology of adipose tissue and liver were examined. Supplementation with C7F increased plasma HDL-cholesterol thereby increasing the plasma level of total cholesterol. Supplementation with formononetin did not affect plasma cholesterol but increased plasma triglycerides levels. Supplementation with formononetin and C7F induced hepatic steatosis. However, formononetin decreased markers of inflammation and liver injury. The development of hepatic steatosis was associated with deregulated expression of hepatic genes involved in lipid and lipoprotein metabolism. In conclusion, supplementation with formononetin and C7F to a cholesterol-enriched diet adversely affected lipid and lipoprotein metabolism in C57BL/6J mice.