University of Oklahoma researchers discovered that indole, a natural substance made by healthy gut bacteria, dramatically cuts fatty liver risk in offspring of junk-food-fed mothers. Published in eBioMedicine, this breakthrough mouse study from Jed Friedman and Karen Jonscher's team reveals how maternal diet shapes baby livers through microbiome inheritance, and how one compound flips the script.
Metabolically dysregulated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) silently hits 30% of obese children and 10% of normal-weight kids. Maternal obesity or poor diet skyrockets risk. No approved drugs exist for pediatric cases—prevention is everything. The microbiome (trillions of gut bacteria) passes from mom to baby, programming lifelong metabolic fate.
Female mice ate a high-fat, high-sugar "Western" diet during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Half got indole supplements (made from tryptophan in turkey, nuts). Babies weaned to normal chow, then challenged with a Western diet as adults to trigger fatty liver.
Results:
• Indole babies: Healthier livers, less weight gain, lower blood sugar, smaller fat cells
• Protective AHR gut pathway activated (liver shield engaged)
• Harmful long-chain ceramides unchanged, beneficial very-long-chain ceramides ↑
• Fecal transplant proof: Indole-protected baby gut bacteria rescued other mice from liver damage
Mom's junk diet spawns harmful baby microbiome. Indole restores healthy bacteria, blocks toxic liver fats, activates protective pathways. Friedman explains: "Poor maternal diet shapes infant microbiome harmfully." Jonscher adds: "Prevent MASLD in pregnancy beats reversing it later."
No pediatric MASLD drugs exist beyond weight loss. Indole-rich foods or probiotics during pregnancy could slash kid liver disease rates. With maternal obesity epidemic, this microbiome fix offers doctors a pregnancy window to protect the next generation's livers before damage begins.
This study rewrites maternal nutrition—not just calories matter, but gut bacteria signals passed to babies. One natural compound unlocks prevention for the silent liver crisis hitting our children.
REFERENCE: Mandala, A., et al. (2025). Reprogramming offspring liver health: maternal indole supplementation as a preventive strategy against MASLD. eBioMedicine. DOI: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2025.106098. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/ebiom/article/PIIS2352-3964(25)00548-1/fulltext
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