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. 2015:2015:723431.
doi: 10.1155/2015/723431. Epub 2015 Oct 28.

Protective Effects of Aqueous Extract of Luehea divaricata against Behavioral and Oxidative Changes Induced by 3-Nitropropionic Acid in Rats

Aline Alves Courtes  1 , Letícia Priscila Arantes  2 , Rômulo Pillon Barcelos  2 , Ingrid Kich da Silva  2 , Aline Augusti Boligon  2 , Margareth Linde Athayde  2 , Robson Luiz Puntel  3 , Félix Alexandre Antunes Soares  2
Affiliations

Protective Effects of Aqueous Extract of Luehea divaricata against Behavioral and Oxidative Changes Induced by 3-Nitropropionic Acid in Rats

Aline Alves Courtes et al. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2015.

Abstract

Huntington's disease (HD) is an autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disease. Accordingly, 3-nitropropionic acid (3-NP) has been found to effectively produce HD-like symptoms. Luehea divaricata (L. divaricata), popularly known in Brazil as "açoita-cavalo," may act as a neuroprotective agent in vitro and in vivo. We evaluated the hypothesis that the aqueous extract of L. divaricata could prevent behavioral and oxidative alterations induced by 3-NP in rats. 25 adult Wistar male rats were divided into 5 groups: (1) control, (2) L. divaricata (1000 mg/kg), (3) 3-NP, (4) L. divaricata (500 mg/kg) + 3-NP, and (5) L. divaricata (1000 mg/kg) + 3-NP. Groups 2, 4, and 5 received L. divaricata via intragastric gavage daily for 10 days. Animals in groups 3, 4, and 5 received 20 mg/kg 3-NP daily from days 8-10. At day 10, parameters of locomotor activity and biochemical evaluations were performed. Indeed, rats treated with 3-NP showed decreased locomotor activity compared to controls. Additionally, 3-NP increased levels of reactive oxygen species and lipid peroxidation and decreased ratio of GSH/GSSG and acetylcholinesterase activity in cortex and/or striatum. Our results suggest that rats pretreated with L. divaricata prior to 3-NP treatment showed neuroprotective effects when compared to 3-NP treated controls, which may be due to its antioxidant properties.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Representative high performance liquid chromatography profile of Luehea divaricata aqueous extract. Gallic acid (peak 1), catechin (peak 2), chlorogenic acid (peak 3), caffeic acid (peak 4), epicatechin (peak 5), vitexin (peak 6), rosmarinic acid (peak 7), rutin (peak 8), quercetin (peak 9), and luteolin (peak 10).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Effects of 3-NP (20 mg/kg, i.p., 3 days) and/or Luehea divaricata (LD) (500 and 1000 mg/kg, by gavage, 10 days) on locomotor and exploratory activities. (a) Number of crossings in the open field; (b) number of rearings in the open field. Each bar represents means ± SEM (n = 5). ∗ indicates statistic difference from control group and # indicates statistic difference from 3-NP group by one-way ANOVA, followed by Newman Keuls test for post hoc comparison (p < 0.05).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Effects of 3-NP (20 mg/kg, i.p., 3 days) and/or Luehea divaricata (LD) (500 and 1000 mg/kg, by gavage, 10 days) on latency to the first fall (a) and number of falls (b) in motor performance of rats in the Rotarod task. Each bar represents means ± SEM (n = 5). ∗ indicates statistic difference from control group and # indicates statistic difference from 3-NP group by one-way ANOVA, followed by Newman Keuls post hoc test (p < 0.05).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Effects of 3-NP (20 mg/kg, i.p., 3 days) and/or Luehea divaricata (LD) (500 and 1000 mg/kg, by gavage, 10 days) on ROS formation in cortex (a) and striatum (b) of treated rats. Data are expressed as nmol DCF/mg. Each bar represents means ± SEM (n = 5). ∗ indicates statistic difference from control group and # indicates statistic difference from 3-NP group by one-way ANOVA, followed by Newman Keuls post hoc test (p < 0.05).
Figure 5
Figure 5
Effects of 3-NP (20 mg/kg, i.p., 3 days) and/or Luehea divaricata (LD) (500 and 1000 mg/kg, by gavage, 10 days) on TBARS levels in cortex (a) and striatum (b). Data are expressed as nmol MDA/mg of tissue. Each bar represents means ± SEM (n = 5). ∗ indicates statistic difference from control group and # indicates statistic difference from 3-NP group by one-way ANOVA, followed by Newman Keuls post hoc test (p < 0.05).
Figure 6
Figure 6
Effects of 3-NP (20 mg/kg, i.p., 3 days) and/or Luehea divaricata (LD) (500 and 1000 mg/kg, by gavage, 10 days) on GSH/GSSG ratio in cortex (a) and striatum (b) of treated rats. Data are expressed as nmol GSH/mg of tissue. Each bar represents means ± SEM (n = 5). ∗ indicates statistic difference from control group and # indicates statistic difference from 3-NP group by one-way ANOVA, followed by Newman Keuls post hoc test (p < 0.05).
Figure 7
Figure 7
Effects of 3-NP (20 mg/kg, i.p., 3 days) and/or Luehea divaricata (LD) (500 and 1000 mg/kg, by gavage, 10 days) on the acetylcholinesterase activity in cortex (a) and striatum (b) of treated rats. Data are expressed as % of control. Each bar represents means ± SEM (n = 5). ∗ indicates statistic difference from control group and # indicates statistic difference from 3-NP group by one-way ANOVA, followed by Newman Keuls post hoc test (p < 0.05).
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