effects of diets enriched in omega-9 or omega-6 fatty acids on reproductive process

objective: maternal type and amounts of dietary fatty acids affect on reproductive process in the mice. the present study investigated the effects of maternal supplementation with different amounts of omega-6 or omega-9 during pregnancy on the number of offspring, sex-ratio and duration of gestation. materials and methods: eight-week-old female c57bl/6 mice were randomly assigned into four dietary groups including low omega-6 (16%; lo6), low omega-9 (16%; lo9), high omega-6 (45%; ho6) and high omega-9 (45%; ho9) during gestation. number of offspring, sex-ratio and duration of pregnancy were compared among four dietary groups. results: there was significant difference between lo6 and ho6 (p < 0.0001), lo9 and ho9 (p < 0.0001) groups in total number of pups. the number of female and male offspring were significantly different between lo6 and lo9 (p = 0.009 and p = 0.001, respectively), lo9 and ho9 (p = 0.01 and p = 0.025) groups. duration of pregnancy was significantly higher in low fat diet than high fat diet groups (< 0.001). conclusion: high fat diet reduced number of pups, gestation duration and lead to early labor. omega-9 fatty acids shifted sex of offspring to females.