ABSTRACT Galactose, a component of lactose, has nutritional programming power in mice. Lactose‐free formulae contain maltodextrin, but no galactose. Here, partly replacing maltodextrin with galactose in the post‐weaning diet was investigated for its metabolic and nutritional programming effects. Female and male mice were fed 39 energy% (en%) maltodextrin and 8 en% glucose (CON), or 31 en% maltodextrin with 16 en% galactose (GAL), or 15 en% maltodextrin and 16 en% galactose plus 16 en% glucose (lactose‐mimic, LM) from postnatal week (PW) 3 to PW6. Body weight, fat mass, lean mass, energy expenditure (EE), and respiratory exchange ratio (RER) were lower at PW6 in female GAL and LM mice ( p < 0.05). After receiving 9 weeks of the same obesogenic high‐fat diet, the expression of hepatic insulin‐like growth factor 1 ( Igf1 ) appeared lower in both galactose‐fed groups in females ( p < 0.05). Partly replacing maltodextrin with galactose or galactose plus glucose in a post‐weaning diet in mice resulted in significantly lower body weight, fat and lean mass, EE, and RER in early‐life, and had no obvious nutritional programming effects except on liver Igf1 mRNA in females in later‐life. The implications of this programming effect remain to be investigated further.
Sun et al. (Thu,) studied this question.
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