Açaí (Euterpe oleracea) pulp-enriched diet induces anxiolytic-like effects and improves memory retention

Abstract

Background: Açaí (Euterpe oleracea) has a rich nutritional composition, showing nutraceutical and protective effects in several organs. In this study, the effects of an açaí-enriched diet on motor performance, anxiety-like behavior, and memory retention were deeply investigated.
 Methods: Eight-week male Wistar rats were fed with an Euterpe oleracea (EO) pulp-enriched diet, an olive oil-enriched (OO) diet (polyunsaturated fatty acid [PUFA] fat control diet), or a chow diet for 31 days (28 days pre-treatment and 3 days during behavioral tests). Afterward, animals were submitted to a battery of behavioral tests to evaluate spontaneous motor behavior (open-field test), anxiety-like behavior (elevated plus maze and open-field test), and memory retention (step-down). Oxidative stress in the hippocampus was evaluated by a lipid peroxidation assay.
 Results: EO-enriched diet did not influence the body weight and food intake but increased the glucose plasmatic level after 31 days under this diet. However, a similar fat-enriched diet stimulated a marked weight gain and reduced the food intake, followed by changes in the plasmatic lipid markers. EO-enriched diet preserved the motor spontaneous performance, increased the exploration in the aversive environment (anxiolytic-like effects), and elevated the latency to step-down (improved memory retention). The EO-enriched diet also reduced the level of lipid peroxidation in the hippocampus. These positive effects of EO-enriched diet can greatly support the usage of this diet as a preventive therapy.
 Conclusion: Taken together, the current study suggests that Euterpe oleracea-enriched diet promotes anxiolytic-like effects and improves memory consolidation, possibly due to the reduced levels of lipid peroxidation in the hippocampus.

Neuroprotective effects of açaí (Euterpe oleracea Mart.) against diabetic retinopathy

“…Our data mainly showed that the retinal functional responses of diabetic animals that received açaí-enriched diet did not statistically differ from the responses of the control groups in almost all protocols tested (except in cone response at day 60), these results demonstrate a potential neuroprotective effect of açaí against the damage promoted by diabetes in the retina, reflecting on the preservation of retinal function. The present result about mass body corroborates the previous studies carried out by our group using a similar fortified feed that showed that EO-enriched diet did not influence the animals mass body ( Brasil et al, 2017 ; de Carvalho et al, 2022 ).…”

“…In addition, recently our group showed that E. oleracea -enriched diet provided anxiolytic-like effects and improves memory consolidation in rats, probably due to the reduced levels of lipid peroxidation (markers of oxidative damage) in the hippocampus ( de Carvalho et al, 2022 ).…”

“…Furthermore, some studies have shown positive effects of E. oleracea attributed to its antioxidant potential on neurodegenerative diseases ( de Oliveira et al, 2019 ; D’Amico et al, 2022 ), anxiety-like behavior ( de Carvalho et al, 2022 ) and model of aging ( Remigante et al, 2022 ).…”

“…Several studies had showed positive effects of flavonoids in DR ( Ola et al, 2018 ; Matos et al, 2020 ) as well as effects of açaí in different models ( de Oliveira et al, 2019 ; D’Amico et al, 2022 ; de Carvalho et al, 2022 ; Remigante et al, 2022 ), including DM models ( da Silva Cristino Cordeiro et al, 2018 ; De Bem et al, 2018a ; de Bem et al, 2018b ) and protection against retinal electrical response impairment induced by toxic agent ( Brasil et al, 2017 ), however there is no studies testing the acai effect in retinal function in DR model.…”