Avaliação comportamental e neuroquímica de compostos naturais em modelos animais de transtornos de humor

Abstract

Chronic stressful stimuli influence disease susceptibility to depression, cardiovascular, metabolic and neurodegenerative disorders. The present work investigated antidepressant and antioxidant properties of the aqueous extract from Cecropia pachystachya in a mouse model of chronic unpredictable stress (CUS). Our results indicated that acute administration of the aqueous extract (AE) from Cecropia pachystachya (200 and 400 mg/kg, p.o.) produced an antidepressant-like effect in the forced swimming test (FST). In addition, chronic treatment with Cecropia pachystachya extract (200 mg/kg, p.o., for 14 days) prevented the depressantlike effect but not the anxiogenic effect induced by CUS. In addition to the behavioural modifications, the 14 days of CUS increased lipid peroxidation in the hippocampus (HP) and prefrontal cortex (PFC) and decreased total thiol content in the HP. Cecropia pachystachya AE administration during CUS protocol was able to prevent the oxidative damage induced by stress. However, no changes were observed in the activity of the antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase and catalase in the above cited brain areas after the stress protocol and treatment. Our results suggest that Cecropia pachystachya prevented both depressive behavior and oxidative damage induced by CUS, supporting its neuroprotective potential against behavioral and biochemical dysfunctions induced by chronic stress.