Abstract: Vitamin A (VA) is a fat-soluble vitamin with all-trans-retinoic biological activities. In addition to maintaining the normal functions of the eye, skin, immune, and reproductive systems, VA is also widely distributed in brain tissues, and important to the generation and differentiation of neural progenitor cells in the developing nervous system. Pregnant women are susceptible to vitamin A deficiency (VAD). Retinoic acid, the active form of VA, is very important to the brain development of offspring. This article reviews the literatures of maternal VAD during pregnancy, summarizing the risk factors of maternal VAD during pregnancy, and the research findings of the effects of maternal VAD during pregnancy on offspring neurodevelopment based on both human studies and animal experiments, and the possible underlying mechanisms by which maternal VAD affects the development of embryonic layers, brain structures, hippocampal synaptic transmission, and the biological clock in offspring.

Key words: pregnancy, vitamin A deficiency (VAD), offspring, neurodevelopment, biological clock