On December 22, 2016, the Journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB Journal) reported the results of an experiment that found an association between the intake of pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ) in obese mice and a lower risk of the development of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in their offspring.
"We know that infants born to mothers with obesity have a greater chance of developing NAFLD over their lifetime, and in fact one-third of obese children under 18 may have undiagnosed fatty liver disease that, when discovered, is more likely to be advanced at the time of diagnosis," stated lead author Karen Jonscher, PhD, of the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. "The goal of our study, which we carried out using a mouse model of obese pregnancy, was to determine whether a novel antioxidant given to mothers during pregnancy and breastfeeding could prevent the development of NAFLD in the offspring."
Dr Jonscher and colleagues fed female mice a healthy diet or a Western-style diet that contained a high amount of fat and sugar. Some of the animals in both groups received drinking water enhanced with PQQ. Mice born to the animals were kept on the diets for 20 weeks. While offspring that received a Western diet experienced greater weight gain, the addition of PQQ was associated with less fat and inflammation in the liver.
"Pyrroloquinoline quinone, or PQQ, is a natural antioxidant found in soil and many foods and enriched in human breast milk," Dr Jonscher noted. "Perhaps supplementing the diet of obese pregnant mothers with PQQ, which has proven safe in several human studies, will be a therapeutic target worthy of more study in the battle to reduce the risk of NAFLD in babies.”
January 13, 2017
Source: http://www.prohealth.com/
