Chronic consumption of distilled sugarcane spirit induces anxiolytic-like effects in mice

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:Chronic ethanol consumption is a major public health problem throughout the world. We investigated the anxiolytic-like effects and the possible ever injury induced by the chronic consumption of ethanol or sugarcane spirit in mice.METHOD:Adult mice were exposed to a two-bottle free-choice paradigm for 6 weeks. The mice in Group A (n = 16) had access to sugarcane spirit + distilled water, the mice in Group B (n = 15) had access to ethanol + distilled water, and the mice in Group C (control, n = 14) had access to distilled water + distilled water. The ethanol content in the beverages offered to Groups A and B was 2% for the first week, 5% for the second week and 10% for the remaining four weeks. At the end of the experimental period, the mice were evaluated using the elevated-plus maze and the hole-board test to assess their anxiety-related behaviors. We also determined the serum aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase levels.RESULTS:In the elevated-plus maze, the time spent in the open arms was increased in the mice exposed to chronic ethanol (32 ± 8 vs. 7 ± 2 s, n = 9) or sugarcane spirit (36 ± 9 vs. 7 ± 2 s, n = 9) compared to the controls. In the hole-board test, the mice exposed to ethanol or sugarcane spirit displayed increases in their head-dipping frequency (16 ± 1 for the control group, 27 ± 2 for the ethanol group, and 31 ± 3 for the sugarcane-spirit group; n = 9 for each group). In addition, the mice exposed to sugarcane spirit displayed an increase in the aspartate aminotransferase / alanine aminotransferase ratio compared to the ethanol group (1.29 ± 0.17 for the control group and 2.67 ± 0.17 for the sugarcane spirit group; n = 8 for each group).CONCLUSION:The chronic consumption of sugarcane-spirit produces liver injury and anxiolytic-like effects and the possible liver injury in mice.

Anxiolytic-like effect of Azadirachta indica A. Juss. (Neem, Meliaceae) bark on adult zebrafish (Danio rerio): participation of the Serotoninergic and GABAergic systems

“…35 Moreover, alcohol can affect neurotransmitters, such as by inhibiting the glutamatergic system and stimulating the GABAergic, 36 initially resulting in a calming effect. 37 Sena et al, 38 used distilled cachaça as a source of ethanol for the induction of anxiety in rodents. Benneh et al, 2 used ethanol withdrawal (0.5%; v/v) to induce chronic anxiety in zebrafish by ethanol withdrawal, and then used the Maerua angolensis trunk bark extract to treat anxiety.…”