Maternal low-intensity exercise and probiotic ingestion during pregnancy improve physical ability and brain function in offspring mice

Abstract

Appropriate exercise during pregnancy is known to benefit the fetus. Recently, providing probiotics during pregnancy has been shown to affect offspring positively. However, the effectiveness of exercise coupled with taking probiotics and the effects on the brain and immunity as well as the physical fitness of the offspring remains unclear. In this study, we investigate the effect of low-intensity exercise and probiotic ingestion during pregnancy on offspring mice. C57BL/6J pregnant mice were subjected to probiotic intake (L. plantarum and B. longum) and/or aerobic exercise intervention for 2 weeks. We observed that offspring mice from mothers who had exercised and ingested probiotics could run for the longest time in a rotarod test, and they had the lowest levels of brain cytokines, including IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α. These results suggest that low-intensity exercise during pregnancy improves offspring mice's motor function and decrease inflammatory cytokine in the brain when combined with probiotic ingestion.

Keywords

• Maternal exercise
• Probiotics
• Motor function
• Cytokines
• Gamma-aminobutyric acid
• Glutamate