Preventive effects of blueberry extract on behavioral and biochemical dysfunctions in rats submitted to a model of manic behavior induced by ketamine

Abstract The aim of the present study was to evaluate the protective effects of blueberry extract on oxidative stress and inflammatory parameters in a model of mania induced by ketamine administration in rats. Male rats were pretreated with blueberry extract (200 mg/kg, once a day for 14 days), lithium chloride (45 mg/kg, mood stabilizer used as a positive control, twice a day for 14 days), or vehicle. Between the 8th and 14th days, rats also received an injection of ketamine (25 mg/kg) or vehicle. In the 15th day, thirty minutes after ketamine administration the hyperlocomotion of the animals was assessed in the open – field apparatus. Immediately after the behavioral analysis brain and blood were collected for biochemical determinations. ketamine treatment induced hyperlocomotion and oxidative damage in cerebral cortex, hippocampus and striatum such as an increase in lipid peroxidation and a decrease in the antioxidant enzymes activities (superoxide dismutase, catalase e glutatione peroxidase). Ketamine administration also increased the IL-6 levels in serum in rats. Pretreatment of rats with blueberry extract or lithium prevented the hyperlocomotion, pro – oxidant effects and inflammation induced by ketamine. Our findings suggest that blueberry consumption has a neuroprotective potential against behavioral and biochemical dysfunctions induced in a preclinical model that mimic some aspects of the manic behavior.