AbstractA group of 30 pregnant rats was subdivided into three experimental groups of ten animals each. The first and second received choline‐deficient and choline‐supplemented diets respectively during the usual 21 days of gestation. The third was fed a choline‐deficient diet an additional 30 days prior to insemination, and subsequently during the usual period of gestation.Groups of ten non‐pregnant animals received the choline‐deficient and choline‐supplemented diets respectively for 21 days, a period comparable to that of gestation.Choline supplementation of the basal (choline‐deficient) diet resulted in a complete absence of stainable lipid in the livers of pregnant and fetal rats.The stress effects of pregnancy on increased susceptibility to choline deficiency were assessed by comparing the amount of stainable fat (in frozen sections) in the livers of pregnant rats maintained on the choline‐deficient diets during the period of gestation with that in livers of non‐pregnant rats fed the deficient diet for the same length of time.Under the conditions of this experiment, the stress effects of pregnancy increased susceptibility to choline deficiency, as evidenced by the increased accumulation of fat in both maternal
展开▼
