Improving Health of Low Birth Weight Infants Via Nutritional Epigenetics

Lin Xi and Jack Odle of North Carolina State University in the U.S. propose to use metabolomic and epigenetic analysis in a pig model to explore the mechanisms by which dietary choline and DHA (docosahexanoate) supplementation in gestating mothers could alleviate the effects of malnutrition on infants. The data could inform the design of nutritional supplements for mothers to improve the developmental outcomes of low birth weight infants.