Early Postnatal Changes in Brain Composition in Progeny of Rats Fed Different Levels of Dietary Pyridoxine

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Abstract
Five groups of female rats were fed diets containing 1.2, 2.4, 4.8, 9.6 or 19.2 mg pyridoxine·HCl/kg diet throughout growth, gestation and lactation. At 12 days postpartum pups were killed and brains were removed for analyses of vitamin B-6, protein, total lipid, phospholipid, cholesterol, proteolipid protein and cerebrosides. No differences were observed in body or brain weights of progeny. Vitamin B-6 content in brain of progeny of rats fed the 2.4-mg level of pyridoxine was twice that of pups from dams fed 1.2 mg. Values for the 4.8, 9.6 and 19.2 mg groups were similar and were three times greater than values for the 1.2 mg group. These changes were paralleled by those in the cerebroside content of the brains. The protein content in brains of the 1.2, 2.4, 4.8 and 9.6 mg groups were similar but were lower than values for the 19.2 mg group. Total lipid, phospholipid, cholesterol and proteolipid content in brain were similar among all groups. In a second experiment dams were fed three diets: 1.2 or 9.6 mg pyridoxine·HCl/kg diet, ad libitum, or the 9.6 mg diet restricted in amount to the 1.2-mg group. Pups were killed at 21 days postpartum; brains were removed and analyzed for the same fractions as in the first experiment. All fractions were similar for the two groups fed 9.6 mg. Vitamin B-6, cerebroside, cholesterol and protein content in brains of pups of dams fed 1.2 mg were much lower than that of the two groups fed 9.6 mg. Total lipid, phospholipid and proteolipid content in brains were similar among the three treatment groups.