REVIEW article
Front. Cell. Neurosci.
Sec. Cellular Neuropathology
Volume 19 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fncel.2025.1623576
Effect of maternal diet on gut bacteria and autism spectrum disorder in offspring
Provisionally accepted
- 1Guang’anmen Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
- 2The Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangdong, China
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Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that manifests in early childhood, with its specific causes and pathogenesis remaining incompletely understood. The gut bacteria plays a pivotal role in host health and neurodevelopment. Maternal eating disorders may disrupt maternal gut bacteria and subsequently influence fetal and neonatal gut bacteria through the gut-placental axis and breastfeeding. This disruption can ultimately impact the microbial-gut-brain axis, the immune system, neurotransmitter dysregulation, and metabolite abnormalities, thereby increasing the risk of ASD in offspring. This paper reviews the adverse effects of bad maternal dietary habits, including high-sugar, high-salt, high-fat diets, alcohol consumption, dietary fiber deficiency, and the intake of ultra-processed foods, on the gut bacteria. It also explores the mechanisms by which gut microbiota disorder may induce ASD through the immune system, neurotransmitters, and metabolites.Additionally, the article proposes potential strategies to prevent ASD by adjusting dietary structures and enhancing gut bacteria health.
Keywords: Autism Spectrum Disorder, gut bacteria, Immune-inflammation, maternal diet, Microbial-Gut-Brain Axis
Received: 06 May 2025; Accepted: 11 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Chen, Xu, Hu, Zhang and Han. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Zilin Chen, Guang’anmen Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
Fei Han, Guang’anmen Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.