Middle Iron-Enriched Fructose Diet on Gestational Diabetes Risk and on Oxidative Stress in Offspring Rats

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is associated with increased insulin resistance and a heightened level of oxidative stress (OS). Additionally, high iron consumption could also increase insulin resistance and OS, which could aggravate GDM risk. The aim of this study is to evaluate a high fructose diet (F) as an alternative experimental model of GDM on rats. We also have evaluated the worst effect of a fructose iron-enriched diet (FI) on glucose tolerance and OS status during pregnancy. Anthropometric parameters, plasma glucose levels, insulin, and lipid profile were assessed after delivery in rats fed an F diet. The effects observed in mothers (hyperglycemia, and hyperlipidemia) and on pups (macrosomia and hypoglycemia) are similar to those observed in women with GDM. Therefore, the fructose diet could be proposed as an experimental model of GDM. In this way, we can compare the effect of an iron-enriched diet on the metabolic and redox status of mother rats and their pups. The mothers’ glycemic was similar in the F and FI groups, whereas the glycemic was significantly different in the newborn. In rat pups born to mothers fed on an FI diet, the activities of the antioxidant enzyme glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and glutathione-S-transferase in livers and GPx in brains were altered and the gender analysis showed significant differences. Thus, alterations in the glycemic and redox status in newborns suggest that fetuses are more sensitive than their mothers to the effect of an iron-enriched diet in the case of GDM pregnancy. This study proposed a novel experimental model for GDM and provided insights on the effect of a moderate iron intake in adding to the risk of glucose disorder and oxidative damage on newborns.