Efeito antidepressivo e antioxidante da espécie aloysia citriodora em ratos adultos submetidos à privação maternal na infância

Abstract

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is a multifactorial disease with repercussions on quality and life expectancy, considered a public health problem. In this regard, maternal deprivation (MD) is an animal protocol related to MDD in adulthood due to changes in neuronal circuitry and neurodevelopment. Notably, MDD is challenging to treat, with cases refractory to classic antidepressants and other pharmacological strategies. Along with this, there is a need for a longer time to obtain a therapeutic response. Therefore, there is an urgent need for new therapeutic options. Thus, this work proposes to evaluate the treatment carried out with the hydroalcoholic extract (EHA) of Aloysia citriodora in rats with depressive-like behavior, which were submitted to PM during the first days of life. Behavioral parameters and markers of oxidative stress (OS) triggered by PM stress were evaluated. The pups were submitted to the MD protocol from the first day, consisting of MD for 3 hours a day for ten days. At the end of sixty days of life, chronic treatment with EHA from A. citriodora was started for fourteen days, with the forced swimming test and euthanasia being performed to collect samples at the end of the treatment. The protocol led to depressive-like behaviors in adulthood life and increased levels of myeloperoxidase (MPO) in serum, and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) in serum and hippocampus. The chronic use of EHA from A. citriodora reversed depressive-like behavior and reduced oxidative stress parameters. Thus, A. citriodora proved to be a possible therapeutic strategy for TDM.