The role of gangliosides in brain development and the potential benefits of perinatal supplementation

The maternal diet provides critical nutrients that can influence fetal and infant brain development and function. This review highlights the potential benefits of maternal dietary ganglioside supplementation on fetal and infant brain development. English-language systematic reviews, preclinical studies, and clinical studies were obtained through searches on PubMed. Reports were selected if they included benefits and harms of maternal ganglioside supplementation during pregnancy or ganglioside-supplemented formula after pregnancy. The potential benefits of ganglioside supplementation were explored by investigating the following: (1) their role in neural development, (2) their therapeutic use in neural injury and disease, (3) their presence in human breast milk, and (4) their use as a dietary supplement during or after pregnancy. Preclinical studies indicate that ganglioside supplementation at high doses (1% of total dietary intake) can significantly increase cognitive development and body weight when given prenatally. However, lower ganglioside supplementation doses have no beneficial cognitive effects, even when given throughout pregnancy and lactation. In human clinical trials, infants given formula supplemented with gangliosides showed increased cognitive development and an increase in ganglioside content. Ganglioside supplementation may promote brain development and function in offspring when administered at the optimum dosage. We propose that prenatal maternal dietary supplementation with gangliosides throughout pregnancy may promote greater long-term effects on brain development and function. Before this concept can be encouraged in preconception clinics, future research and clinical trials are needed to confirm the ability of dietary gangliosides to improve cognitive development, but available results already encourage this area of research.