Vanillic acid alleviates lipopolysaccharide-induced anxiety/depression-like behaviors and cerebral oxidative stress in male rats

Abstract

Oxidative stress is thought to be one of the important causes of anxiety and depression. Vanillic acid (VA) is a phenolic compound with a well-known anti-oxidative property. The present study was aimed to investigate the putative anxiolytic and antidepressant-like properties of VA in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-challenged rats, and the potential involvement of its antioxidant effects. Rats were received VA (100 mg/kg, gavage, 10 consecutive days) or saline before intraperitoneal administration of LPS. Subsequently, rats were submitted to the elevated plus-maze (EPM), open-field test (OFT), and forced swimming test (FST) 24 h after LPS administration. In addition, superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and malondialdehyde (MDA) concentrations were determined in the brain tissue. The results showed that LPS challenge leads to increased anxiety-like behavior along with decreased exploratory activity in EPM and OFT, and enhanced depression-like behavior in FST. These findings were associated with decreased SOD and GPx activities and increased MDA content in the brain tissue of LPS-challenged rats. Conversely, pretreatment with VA ameliorated all the above-mentioned LPS-induced neuropathological and biochemical changes. These results indicate that VA represent anxiolytic, antidepressant, and antioxidant properties in LPS-challenged rats, which may provide new insights into the development of novel therapeutic agent for the treatment of psychiatric disorders associated with oxidative stress.