Comparing the impact of chronic energy restriction and vitamin E supplementation on the behavior of adult rats.
The purpose of this work was to investigate the influence of energy restriction and vitamin E supplementation on memory, learning, anxiety and spontaneous locomotion in adult rats. Three-month-old male Wistar rats were grouped according to diet: Control (AIN 93-M; n=18), Supplemented (AIN 93-M + 1425 IU all-rac-alpha-tocopheryl acetate/kg diet; n=22) and Restricted (AIN 93-M with 30% reduction in carbohydrate energy; n=23). Sixteen weeks after, the passive avoidance (PA), elevated plus-maze (EPM) and open field (OF) tests were applied. In the EPM test, the behavioral profile of the supplemented group was characterized by a lower frequency of entries into the open arms (P < 0,026), whereas the restricted group showed a lower frequency of head dipping (P < 0,003). The ratio between the time span of the shocks and the number of attempts were larger for the supplemented than for the non-supplemented animals (P = 0,0474), thus suggesting a delay in learning in the PA test. Taken together, these results suggest that a long-term combination of carbohydrate energy restriction in rats should not cause negative behavioral alterations. Compared with vitamin E supplementation, the restricted diet performed equally or better in rats as an alternate antioxidant diet.
Diniz
Derlange B
DB
Food Security and Nutrition Laboratory, State University of Ceará, Fortaleza, CE, Brazil.
de Oliveira
Suzana L
SL
Melo
Liana L
LL
Amaya-Farfan
Jaime
J
D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects*; D050528:Diet, Carbohydrate-Restricted; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D008124:Locomotion / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D018782:Maze Learning / Q000187:drug effects; D008568:Memory / Q000187:drug effects; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D024502:alpha-Tocopherol / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000494:pharmacology
D024502:alpha-Tocopherol