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Nutrients
Volume 18
Issue 2
10.3390/nu18020322
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Article

Maternal Protein Restriction and Branched-Chain Amino Acid Supplementation Differentially Affect Maternal Energy Balance and Impair Offspring Growth

by
Daniela Redrovan
1,
Souvik Patra
1,†,
Md Tareq Aziz
1,
Matthew W. Gorton
2,
Emily A. Chavez
1,
Scott Frederiksen
1,
Joshua Rowe
1,
Adel Pezeshki
2 and
Prasanth K. Chelikani
1,*
1
School of Veterinary Medicine, Texas Tech University, Amarillo, TX 79106, USA
2
Department of Animal and Food Sciences, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078, USA
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
Current address: Van Andel Institute, Grand Rapids, MI 49503, USA.
Nutrients 2026, 18(2), 322; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu18020322
Submission received: 19 November 2025 / Revised: 22 December 2025 / Accepted: 15 January 2026 / Published: 20 January 2026
(This article belongs to the Topic Maternal Nutrition from Preconception, Through Pregnancy and Lactation)
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Abstract

Background: The increasing prevalence of low-birth-weight (LBW) offspring from obese mothers underscores the need for dietary strategies to mitigate the transgenerational propagation of metabolic diseases. Objectives: We determined whether dietary protein restriction under obesogenic conditions altered maternal energy balance and led to LBW offspring and whether branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) supplementation improved maternal energy balance and mitigated weight and craniofacial skeletal deficits in offspring. Methods: High-fat-fed obese pregnant Sprague Dawley rats (~8–10 weeks of age, n = 8–11/group) were randomized in study 1 to control high-fat diet (20% protein; HFD), low-protein diet (LP; 5% protein), and LP + BCAA diet (100% BCAA requirements) and in study 2 to control HFD (20% protein), LP (10% protein), and LP + 2BCAA diet (200% BCAA requirements). Post-weaning offspring were fed HFD until 8 weeks of age. Results: Protein restriction promoted hyperphagia and energy expenditure, whereas BCAA supplementation attenuated such hyperphagic effects in pregnancy but not in lactation. Protein restriction reduced maternal body weight in lactation, and although BCAA supplementation did not reverse the weight loss, it enhanced insulin sensitivity and paradoxically reduced offspring survival. Maternal protein restriction reduced offspring body weight and craniofacial bone growth that persisted into adulthood, but BCAA supplementation did not rescue such deficits. Conclusions: Maternal protein restriction in obese dams enhanced maternal energy expenditure but impaired offspring growth and development. Although BCAA supplementation improved maternal energy balance, it was insufficient to reverse the adverse effects of maternal protein restriction on offspring growth under obesogenic conditions.
Keywords: protein restriction; branched-chain amino acids; pregnancy and lactation; craniofacial growth; low birth weight protein restriction; branched-chain amino acids; pregnancy and lactation; craniofacial growth; low birth weight

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MDPI and ACS Style

Redrovan, D.; Patra, S.; Aziz, M.T.; Gorton, M.W.; Chavez, E.A.; Frederiksen, S.; Rowe, J.; Pezeshki, A.; Chelikani, P.K. Maternal Protein Restriction and Branched-Chain Amino Acid Supplementation Differentially Affect Maternal Energy Balance and Impair Offspring Growth. Nutrients 2026, 18, 322. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu18020322

AMA Style

Redrovan D, Patra S, Aziz MT, Gorton MW, Chavez EA, Frederiksen S, Rowe J, Pezeshki A, Chelikani PK. Maternal Protein Restriction and Branched-Chain Amino Acid Supplementation Differentially Affect Maternal Energy Balance and Impair Offspring Growth. Nutrients. 2026; 18(2):322. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu18020322

Chicago/Turabian Style

Redrovan, Daniela, Souvik Patra, Md Tareq Aziz, Matthew W. Gorton, Emily A. Chavez, Scott Frederiksen, Joshua Rowe, Adel Pezeshki, and Prasanth K. Chelikani. 2026. "Maternal Protein Restriction and Branched-Chain Amino Acid Supplementation Differentially Affect Maternal Energy Balance and Impair Offspring Growth" Nutrients 18, no. 2: 322. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu18020322

APA Style

Redrovan, D., Patra, S., Aziz, M. T., Gorton, M. W., Chavez, E. A., Frederiksen, S., Rowe, J., Pezeshki, A., & Chelikani, P. K. (2026). Maternal Protein Restriction and Branched-Chain Amino Acid Supplementation Differentially Affect Maternal Energy Balance and Impair Offspring Growth. Nutrients, 18(2), 322. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu18020322

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