Maternal Plinia trunciflora extract attenuates anxiety but not memory deficits after neonatal hypoxia-ischemia in rats

Abstract

Neonatal hypoxia-ischemia (HI) is one of the main causes of perinatal death and is commonly associated with neurological damage which are usually observed on motor and cognitive domains. Plinia trunciflora or "jabuticaba" is a native edible plant from Brazil and studies show that its fruit extract has antidepressant and antioxidant properties. To evaluate the possible effects of Plinia trunciflora berry extract (PTE) on the experimental HI model in Wistar rats, the aqueous PTE was orally administered at a concentration of 800mg/L, to the dams during the gestational and lactational period. Seven-day-old offspring was submitted to the HI model by occluding the right common carotid artery, followed by hypoxia (8% oxygen) for 1 hour. PTE was observed to inhibit the hyperlocomotion exhibited by HI animals in the open field test. Furthermore, PTE led to the regulation of anxiety-like behavior induced by HI in the elevated plus maze test, reducing the number of rearings and head dippings. In contrast, PTE did not prevent the cognitive impairment related to spatial memory in HI animals and was ineffective protecting brain structures from HI insult. Our data show that maternal/lactational administration of PTE has strong anxiolytic effects in HI newborns, even though it does not protect against memory deficits or tissue damage in HI animals.

Keywords: Neonatal hypoxia-ischemia (HI); Plinia trunciflora; anxiety; jabuticaba; memory; plant extract.