Prenatal dietary choline supplementation modulates long-term memory development in rat offspring

Protective role of the ginsenoside Rg1 against methimazole-induced gestational hypothyroidism on reflexive behaviors, conditioned fear and cortical antioxidant levels in mice offspring

Ginsenoside Rg1(Rg1), a monomer of a tetracyclic triterpenoid derivative, possesses diverse medicinal properties attributed to its unique chemical structure and may have beneficial effects on fetal development. This study aimed to investigate the protective effects of prenatal exposure to Rg1 against Methimazole-induced gestational hypothyroidism on reflexive behaviors, conditioned fear, and cortical antioxidant levels in mouse offspring.40 female virgin mice and 12 male NMRI mice were assigned to four groups: group 1 served as the control, group 2 received Methimazole(MMI) at a concentration of 0.02% in their drinking water, group 3 received Rg1(150 mg/kg), and group 4 received both MMI and Rg1.Groups of 2-4 were administered the substances from days 1-9 of gestation. After delivery, pups were selected, and reflexive motor behaviors and conditioned fear were assessed. Additionally, levels of brain tissue catalase(CAT), malondialdehyde(MDA), superoxide dismutase(SOD), and glutathione peroxidase(GPx) levels were measured. Furthermore, postpartum immobility time in the forced swimming test (FST), tail suspension test (TST), and the number of squares crossed in the open field test (OFT)were determined. The results demonstrated that maternal exposure to Rg1 improved ambulation score, hind-limb suspension score, grip strength, front-limb suspension, hind-limb foot angle, negative geotaxis, surface righting, and conditioned fear in hypothyroidism-induced offspring(P<0.05). Rg1 decreased immobility time in the FST, and TST, and increased the number of squares crossed in the OFT in postpartum hypothyroidism-induced mice(P<0.05). Moreover, Rg1 reduced brain tissue MDA levels and increased brain tissue CAT, SOD, and GPx levels in mice and their offspring(P<0.05). These findings indicate that Rg1 mitigated postpartum depression in mice and improved reflexive motor behaviors in their pups.

Maternal supplementation of L-Carnosine improves Reflexive Motor Behaviors in Mice Offspring

This study aimed to investigate the effect of maternal supplementation of L-carnosine on improved reflexive motor behaviors in mice offspring. Forty pregnant female NMRI mice were allocated into four groups. In the control group, mice received water, while in groups 2-4, female mice received supplementation of the L-carnosine (0.001, 0.01, or 0.1 mg/kg) at gestation days (G.D.) 5, 8, 11, 14, and 17. Newborn male pups were selected, and reflexive motor behaviors were analyzed on days 5, 7, 10, and 10-15, respectively. Serum malondialdehyde(MDA), superoxide dismutase(SOD), glutathione peroxidase(GPx) and total antioxidant status(TAS) of was determined in offspring's. According to findings, prenatal supplementation of the L-carnosine significantly increased ambulation score, surface righting, hind-limb suspension score, grip strength, front-limb suspension time, and negative geotaxis in mice offspring (P<0.05). Hind-limb foot angle decreased in mice offspring by maternal supplementation of the L-carnosine (P<0.05). Prenatal supplementation of the L-carnosine significantly decreased the MDA and increased the SOD, GPx, and TAS levels in offspring (P<0.05). These results suggested maternal supplementation of the L-carnosine improved reflexive motor behaviors and antioxidant status in mice offspring.

Choline alleviated perinatal fluoride exposure-induced learning and memory impairment through α4β2 nAChRs and α7 nAChRs in offspring mice

Fluoride pollution is widely present in the living environment. As a critical period of brain development, the perinatal period is extremely vulnerable to fluoride. Studies have found that choline can protect the brain's memory and enhance the ability to focus. However, the effect of choline on perinatal fluoride-induced nerve damage remains unclear. Therefore, 32 Kunming newly conceived female mice and their offspring mice were randomly divided into control, NaF, LC + NaF, and HC + NaF groups, and the HE staining, Y-maze test, RT-PCR, western blotting, immunohistochemistry, etc. were used in this study. The results showed that fluoride decreased the brain organ coefficients and brain protein content (p < 0.05, p < 0.01), and caused histomorphological damage in the hippocampus and cortex, which suggested that fluoride affected the development of the brain and damaged the brain. Moreover, the results of the Y-maze test showed that fluoride increased the number of learning days, error reaction time, and total reaction time, and decreased the AchE activity in the brain (p < 0.05, p < 0.01), which indicated that fluoride reduced the learning and memory ability of the mice. Besides, the results showed that fluoride decreased the mRNA and protein expression levels of α4β2 nAChRs and α7 nAChRs in the hippocampus and cortex (p < 0.05, p < 0.01). However, perinatal choline supplementation reversed the aforementioned fluoride-induced changes. In short, these results demonstrated that choline alleviated perinatal fluoride-induced learning and memory impairment, which will provide a rationale for the mitigation and prevention of fluoride-induced brain damage.

Effects of the prenatal exposure to crocin in the expression of withdrawal syndrome on reflexive motor behaviors in mice offspring's

The aim of the current study was to determine effects of the prenatal exposure to crocin in the expression of withdrawal syndrome on reflexive motor behaviors in mice offspring's. Fourteen male mice and 56 adult female mice were randomly divided into seven groups as: control group (morphine-abstinent male and female); group 2, drug-naïve female and morphine-abstinent male; group 3, drug-naïve male and morphine-abstinent females; group 4, drug-naïve male and female. Groups 5-7, were similar to groups 2-4, except crocin (5 mg/kg) were injected to drug-naïve subjects. Following delivery, 20 pups from each litter were selected and behavior and reflexive motor behaviors were determined. Also, blood samples were taken to determine serum antioxidant activity. According to the results, immobility time significantly increased in offspring of the paternal + maternal exposed to morphine swimming test and tail suspension tests (P < 0.05) and significantly decreased in offspring of paternal + maternal exposed to morphine + crocin group (P < 0.05). Ambulation, surface righting, hind-limb suspension, grip strength and front limb suspension significantly decreased in offspring of the mice exposed to morphine (P < 0.05) and significantly improved in offspring of paternal + maternal exposed to morphine + crocin group (P < 0.05). Hind-limb foot angle and negative geotaxis significantly increased in mice with morphine-exposed offspring's (P < 0.05) while improved in offspring of paternal + maternal exposed to morphine + crocin group (P < 0.05). Prenatal exposure to morphine increased Malondialdehyde while decreased Superoxide dismutase, Glutathione peroxidase and total antioxidant status in mice offspring's (P < 0.05) and these results reversed by prenatal exposure to crocin (P < 0.05). In all studied factors, paternal + maternal exposed to morphine + crocin group had better results compared to the other crocin-received drug-naïve groups (P < 0.05). These results suggested prenatal exposure to crocin decreased morphine-induced adverse effect which paternal and maternal exposed to morphine + crocin had the highest prevention against these effects in mice offspring's.

Prenatal exposure to α-pinine improves reflexive motor behaviours in mice offspring

α-pinene is a well-known compound representative of the monoterpenes group with a wide range of pharmacological activities. This article aims to determine effects of the prenatal exposure to α-pinene on reflexive motor behaviours in mice offspring. Forty pregnant female NMRI mice (8-10 weeks old) were allocated into four groups. Group 1 served as control and groups 2-4 were intraperitoneally (i.p.) injected α-pinene (0.1, 0.5 and 1 mg/kg) on 5, 8, 11, 14 and 17 days of gestation (GD). The control group was injected with saline at the same days. Following delivery, 20 pups from each litter were selected and reflexive motor behaviours determined using ambulation, hindlimb foot angle, surface righting, hindlimb strength, grip strength, front-limb suspension and negative geotaxis tests. Based on the findings of the present study, maternal exposure to α-pinene increased ambulation score, hind-limb suspension score, grip strength, front-limb suspension compared with the control group (P < 0.05). Also, prenatal exposure to α-pinene decreased surface righting, hind-limb foot angle and negative geotaxis in mice offspring compared with the control group (P < 0.05). α-pinene (0.1, 0.5 and 1 mg/kg) decreased blood MDA and increased SOD and GPx levels in mice offspring (P < 0.05). These results suggested α-pinene exposure during pregnancy has positive effect on reflexive motor behaviours in mice offspring possibly due to its antioxidant properties.

A Systematic Review of the Dietary Choline Impact on Cognition from a Psychobiological Approach: Insights from Animal Studies

The influence of dietary choline availability on cognition is currently being suggested by animal and human studies which have focused mainly on the early developmental stages. The aim of this review is to systematically search through the available rodent (rats and mice) research published during the last two decades that has assessed the effect of dietary choline interventions on cognition and related attentional and emotional processes for the entire life span. The review has been conducted according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement guidelines covering peer-reviewed studies included in PubMed and Scopus databases. After excluding duplicates and applying the inclusion/exclusion criteria we have reviewed a total of 44 articles published in 25 journals with the contribution of 146 authors. The results are analyzed based on the timing and duration of the dietary intervention and the behavioral tests applied, amongst other variables. Overall, the available results provide compelling support for the relevance of dietary choline in cognition. The beneficial effects of choline supplementation is more evident in recognition rather than in spatial memory tasks when assessing nonpathological samples whilst these effects extend to other relational memory tasks in neuropathological models. However, the limited number of studies that have evaluated other cognitive functions suggest a wider range of potential effects. More research is needed to draw conclusions about the critical variables and the nature of the impact on specific cognitive processes. The results are discussed on the terms of the theoretical framework underlying the relationship between the brain systems and cognition.

Prenatal exposure to hesperidin improves reflexive motor behaviors in mice offspring

Prenatal exposure during the embryonic period has positive or adverse effect on newborn brain development. Neuroprotective activity of the hesperidin is well documented but there is no evidence for maternal exposure to hesperidin on offspring reflexive motor behaviors. So, the aim of the current study was to determine the prenatal exposure to hesperidin on reflexive motor behaviors in mice offspring. Forty pregnant female NMRI mice (8-10 weeks old) were allocated into four groups. Group 1 kept as control and groups 2-4 intraperitoneal (i.p) injected with hesperidin (0.1, 0.5, and 1 mg/kg) on days of 5, 8, 11, 14, and 17 of pregnancy. The control group injected with saline at the same days. Following delivery, 20 pups from each litter were selected and reflexive motor behaviors determined using ambulation, hind-limb foot angle, surface righting, hind-limb strength, grip strength, front-limb suspension, and negative geotaxis tests. At the end of the study serum Malondialdehyde (MDA), Superoxide dismutase (SOD), Glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and total antioxidant status (TAS) levels were determined. According to the results, maternal exposure to hesperidin (0.1, 0.5, and 1 mg/kg) increased ambulation score, front-limb suspension time, and hind-limb suspension score in mice offspring compared to the control group (p < .05). Hesperidin (0.1, 0.5, and 1 mg/kg) decreased hind-limb foot angle in mice offspring compared to the control group (p < .05). Prenatal exposure to hesperidin (0.5 and 1 mg/kg) significantly increased the surface righting and grip strength in comparison to the control group (p < .05). Hesperidin (0.1, 0.5, and 1 mg/kg) decreased MDA and increased SOD and GPx levels in mice offspring (p < .05). These results suggested hesperidin exposure during pregnancy has positive effect on reflexive motor behaviors in mice offspring may be due to its antioxidant activity.

Choline, Neurological Development and Brain Function: A Systematic Review Focusing on the First 1000 Days

The foundations of neurodevelopment across an individual's lifespan are established in the first 1000 days of life (2 years). During this period an adequate supply of nutrients are essential for proper neurodevelopment and lifelong brain function. Of these, evidence for choline has been building but has not been widely collated using systematic approaches. Therefore, a systematic review was performed to identify the animal and human studies looking at inter-relationships between choline, neurological development, and brain function during the first 1000 days of life. The database PubMed was used, and reference lists were searched. In total, 813 publications were subject to the title/abstract review, and 38 animal and 16 human studies were included after evaluation. Findings suggest that supplementing the maternal or child's diet with choline over the first 1000 days of life could subsequently: (1) support normal brain development (animal and human evidence), (2) protect against neural and metabolic insults, particularly when the fetus is exposed to alcohol (animal and human evidence), and (3) improve neural and cognitive functioning (animal evidence). Overall, most offspring would benefit from increased choline supply during the first 1000 days of life, particularly in relation to helping facilitate normal brain development. Health policies and guidelines should consider re-evaluation to help communicate and impart potential choline benefits through diet and/or supplementation approaches across this critical life stage.