MADRID, 2 Jul. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Researchers from Marshal University (United States) have shown that a maternal diet rich in Omega-3 fatty acids protects the development of breast cancer in their offspring.
In their new study, published in the journal Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology, the researchers observed a significant difference in mice from mothers fed a diet rich in canola oil, compared to mothers fed a diet rich in canola oil. corn oil. A maternal diet rich in Omega 3 affected epigenetic landscape changes throughout the offspring’s genome and potentially modulated gene expression patterns.
The researchers observed a three-week delay in mortality in mice whose mothers were fed canola oil versus corn oil. The initial delay in mortality was significantly different, but the overall survival rate was not.
Over time, all of the mice developed tumors, but those fed canola oil had slower-growing and smaller tumors than mice fed corn oil. Translated to the human timescale, the duration of the protective effect linked to the maternal diet would amount to several months.
“The question of parental diet and intergenerational transmission has become an important field of research; however, the mode of action often remains partially elusive,” notes one of the authors, Philippe Georgel.
The research group focused on the epigenetic aspects of transgenerational transmission to explain the role that has been pointed out for Omega-3 fatty acids. Epigenetics involves changes in the expression of genes that are not linked to changes in genetic sequences.
“These results have the potential to promote the design of simple changes in diet that reduce the appearance of various types of cancer, not only for individuals who use this diet but also for their offspring”, concludes the researcher.
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