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. 2025 Jun 12;26(12):5642.
doi: 10.3390/ijms26125642.

Cherry Juice Improves Memory and Anxiety by Modulating Cell Number in the Hippocampus of Male Rat Pups Infected with Lipopolysaccharides During Gestation and Gestation-Lactation

Juan J Virgen-Gen  1 , Mayvi Alvarado-Olivarez  1 , Rosa I Guzmán-Gerónimo  2 , Paola F González-Nieto  1 , Ana G Gutiérrez-García  1 , Rosa M Oliart-Ros  3
Affiliations

Cherry Juice Improves Memory and Anxiety by Modulating Cell Number in the Hippocampus of Male Rat Pups Infected with Lipopolysaccharides During Gestation and Gestation-Lactation

Juan J Virgen-Gen et al. Int J Mol Sci. .

Abstract

Exposure to lipopolysaccharides (LPS) during pregnancy have been linked to alterations in the offspring's central nervous system. Cherries are a source of anthocyanins, which possess neuroprotective properties. The study aimed to evaluate the neuroprotective effects of cherry juice (CJ) on memory and hippocampal cell counts in offspring exposed to LPS during gestation and the gestation-lactation periods. At postnatal day 90, rat pups were divided into five groups: Control (saline solution), LPS-G (LPS during gestation), LPS-G+CJ (LPS during gestation+CJ), LPS-GL (LPS during gestation-lactation), and LPS-GL+CJ (LPS during gestation-lactation+CJ). A battery of behavioral tests was conducted to assess short- and long-term memory and anxiety-like behavior. Histological analysis was performed on hippocampal regions. Leukocyte levels were measured as markers of systemic inflammation. Results showed that pups in the LPS-G and LPS-GL groups exhibited impaired memory, increased anxiety-like behavior, elevated leukocyte levels, and reduced cell counts in the dentate gyrus and CA1 regions, as well as in CA2 (LPS-G) and CA3 (LPS-GL). Cherry juice administration in the LPS-G+CJ and LPS-GL+CJ groups improved memory performance, normalized leukocyte levels, and restored hippocampal cell counts. These findings suggest that cherry juice exerts neuroprotective effects against LPS-induced neuroinflammation during gestation and the gestation-lactation periods.

Keywords: anxiogenic; cherry juice; leukocyte; locomotor; neuroprotection.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Mean ± SEM. Effects of cherry juice in maternal infection by lipopolysaccharide on the behavioral response of adult P90 rats in the open field (OP) test. (A) Total speed; (B) Total acceleration; (C) Total distance. * p < 0.01, ** p < 0.001, *** p < 0.0001. (Tukey’s post hoc). n = 6. LPS-G: LPS during gestation, LPS-G+CJ: LPS during gestation + cherry juice, LPS-GL: LPS during gestation-lactation, LPS-GL+CJ: LPS during gestation-lactation + cherry juice.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Mean ± SEM. Effects of cherry juice in maternal infection by lipopolysaccharide on the behavioral response of adult P90 rats in the novel object recognition (NOR) test. (A) Total numbers of interactions in short-term memory (STM); (B) Total time of interaction in short-term memory (STM); (C) Total numbers of interactions in long-term memory (LTM); (D) total time of interaction in long-term memory (LTM). * p < 0.01, ** p < 0.001, *** p < 0.0001 (Tukey’s post hoc). n = 6. LPS-G: LPS during gestation, LPS-G+CJ: LPS during gestation + cherry juice, LPS-GL: LPS during gestation-lactation, LPS-GL+CJ: LPS during gestation-lactation + cherry juice.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Mean ± SEM. Effects of cherry juice in maternal infection by lipopolysaccharide on the behavioral response of adult P90 rats in the novel object recognition (NOR) test. (A) Total numbers of interactions in short-term memory (STM); (B) Total time of interaction in short-term memory (STM); (C) Total numbers of interactions in long-term memory (LTM); (D) total time of interaction in long-term memory (LTM). * p < 0.01, ** p < 0.001, *** p < 0.0001 (Tukey’s post hoc). n = 6. LPS-G: LPS during gestation, LPS-G+CJ: LPS during gestation + cherry juice, LPS-GL: LPS during gestation-lactation, LPS-GL+CJ: LPS during gestation-lactation + cherry juice.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Mean ± SEM. Effects of cherry juice in maternal infection by lipopolysaccharide on the behavioral response of adult P90 rats in the novel object recognition (NOR) test. (A) Total speed; (B) Total acceleration; (C) Total distance. * p < 0.01, ** p < 0.001, *** p < 0.0001 (Tukey’s post hoc). n = 6. LPS-G: LPS during gestation, LPS-G+CJ: LPS during gestation + cherry juice, LPS-GL: LPS during gestation-lactation, LPS-GL+CJ: LPS during gestation-lactation + cherry juice.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Mean ± SEM. Effects of cherry juice in maternal infection by lipopolysaccharide on the behavioral response of adult P90 rats in the elevated plus maze (EPM) test. (A) Total time spent in open and closed arms; (B) Number of entries into open and closed arms. * p < 0.01, ** p < 0.001, *** p < 0.0001 (Tukey’s post hoc). n = 6. LPS-G: LPS during gestation, LPS-G+CJ: LPS during gestation + cherry juice, LPS-GL: LPS during gestation-lactation, LPS-GL+CJ: LPS during gestation-lactation + cherry juice.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Mean ± SEM. Effects of cherry juice in maternal infection by lipopolysaccharide on immune system in blood. (A) Total leukocytes count; (B) Total lymphocytes count; (C) Total granulocytes count. * p < 0.01, ** p < 0.001, *** p < 0.0001. (Tukey’s post hoc). n = 6. LPS-G: LPS during gestation, LPS-G+CJ: LPS during gestation + cherry juice, LPS-GL: LPS during gestation-lactation, LPS-GL+CJ: LPS during gestation-lactation + cherry juice.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Mean ± SEM. Effects of cherry juice in maternal infection by lipopolysaccharide on hippocampal cell count. (A) Number of total cells in the dentate gyrus; (B) Number of total cells in the CA3; (C) Number of total cells in the CA2; (D) Number of total cells in the CA1. * p < 0.01, ** p < 0.001, *** p < 0.0001. (Tukey’s post hoc). n = 4. LPS-G: LPS during gestation, LPS-G+CJ: LPS during gestation + cherry juice, LPS-GL: LPS during gestation-lactation, LPS-GL+CJ: LPS during gestation-lactation + cherry juice.
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