Omega-3s have potential to counteract THC effects on fetal development, study finds

Previous studies show exposure to Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)—the main psychoactive component in cannabis—while in utero can lead to lower birth weight and potential heart complications in newborn animal offspring. For the first time, researchers from Western's Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry have found a potential way to prevent those effects.

A recent study, published in the journal Scientific Reports, is the first to uncover a potential intervention to remedy the decline in birth weight and compromised heart health in offspring due to THC exposure in utero. The study was led by Schulich Medicine & Dentistry researchers Dan Hardy and Kendrick Lee.

Using rat models, the researchers found heart deficits associated with THC were counteracted by Omega-3 supplementation. In this study, researchers were able to replicate the results from a 2019 study in which they demonstrated exposure to THC decreases stroke volume (volume of blood pumped out from the left ventricle), cardiac output (amount of blood your heart pumps out per minute) and ejection fraction (amount of blood your heart pumps each time it beats) in rat offspring.

"When we gave the animal models an Omega-3 diet during pregnancy and for three weeks postpartum, we found it prevented low birth weight outcomes," said Hardy, the study's lead author and professor in the departments of obstetrics and gynecology and physiology and pharmacology. "More importantly, it prevented the early decrease in cardiac function."

According to Hardy, an Omega-3 diet consists of two important fatty acids, DHA and EPA, which play key roles in supporting fetal growth and heart health. Omega-3 has been proven to be a beneficial supplement during pregnancy in preventing gestational diabetes and protecting fetal development. It's also a feasible intervention as Omega-3 is widely accepted and available.

"These results were promising as they show that it is possible to prevent those long-term adverse outcomes in the offspring," said Lee, the study's first author who conducted this research while completing his Ph.D. at Western.

"Ultimately, the best way to prevent the adverse cardiac health outcomes in offspring is to stop using cannabis, but this study raises the exciting possibility that an Omega-3 diet could be beneficial to those children, whom without choice, were exposed to cannabis in utero."