Maternal feeding with walnuts (Juglans regia) improves learning and memory in their adult pups

OBJECTIVE Walnut (Juglans Regia) is a domestic fruit of Iran. Walnut kernel (WK) has many beneficial constituents such as unsaturated fatty acids, antioxidants, and vitamin E. Scientific studies have shown that fatty acids and vitamin E can modulate learning and memory processes. The aim of the present work was to study effects of walnut consumption by mothers during pregnancy and lactation on learning and memory in adult rat offsprings. MATERIALS AND METHODS The animals were divided into three groups: control (fed with ordinary food, 20 g daily), gestation (fed with WK, 6% of food intake during pregnancy), and gestation and lactation (fed with WK, 6% of food intake during gestation and lactation). Morris water maze test was performed for their adult offsprings. RESULTS The results showed that there was a significant difference in learning and memory of rat offsprings between experimental and control groups. CONCLUSION These data may indicate that feeding mothers with WK results in improvement in learning and memory of their offsprings.