Abstract
Sepsis has become one of the most frequent causes of mortality in intensive care centres. So far, there is no effective pharmacotherapy that can prevent or improve the neurological consequences and enhance survival. The goal of this study is to investigate the neuroprotective effect of lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) on behavioural dysfunctions produced in sepsis-surviving rats. Adult male rats were subjected to caecal ligation and puncture and the control animals were submitted to the sham operation. Lemon balm ethanolic extract or saline, given orally, was administered for one week after surgery procedures. Locomotion, anxiety, depressive behaviour and memory were investigated. In the elevated plus-maze (EPM), the percentage of open arm entries and open arm time was very significant in the animals treated with lemon balm extract, similar to the diazepam response in sham-operated and sepsis-surviving rats. Locomotion in open field tests and the enclosed arm entries in the EPM were not significantly altered by treatments. In the forced swimming (FS) test, the extract was effective at reducing the immobility time as that demonstrated by fluoxetine. In the step-down inhibitory avoidance test, the extract eased the effects on memory of sepsis-surviving animals. Collectively, these results demonstrate that lemon balm ethanolic extract could be used for the prevention of cognitive and mood-related deficits that may be associated with sepsis sequelae. Key words: Anxiety, depression, locomotion, Melissa officinalis, memory.
Highlights
Brain disorders are currently getting top priority among the science target and the literature has shown the behavioural problems associated with traumatic brain injury
The polymicrobial sepsis induced in rats by caecal ligation and perforation (CLP) experimental models are important because they reproduce human sepsis consequences (Leite et al, 2013), which is clinically relevant for elucidating new therapy alternatives for this health problem (Hutchins et al, 2014)
In the elevated plus-maze (EPM), sham-operated rats that had been exposed to lemon balm ethanolic extract (EE) showed enhanced percentage of open arm entries (Figure 1A): [F(5,59) = 5.00, p
Summary
Brain disorders are currently getting top priority among the science target and the literature has shown the behavioural problems associated with traumatic brain injury. Sepsis is an example of this damage and it is characterized by a systemic inflammatory response and is associated with high mortality in humans (Greenberg et al, 2014). Several studies are conducted to evaluate the damage to the brain during sepsis and its behavioural consequences, especially involving cognitive and mood impairments present in sepsis survivors (Comim et al, 2016; Leite et al, 2013; Mazeraud et al, 2016; Tauber et al, 2017). The polymicrobial sepsis induced in rats by caecal ligation and perforation (CLP) experimental models are important because they reproduce human sepsis consequences (Leite et al, 2013), which is clinically relevant for elucidating new therapy alternatives for this health problem (Hutchins et al, 2014)
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