Behavioral Effects of Chronic Japanese Quince Fruit Juice Administration to Rats with Diet-Induced Metabolic Syndrome

Abstract

Abstract Introduction Metabolic syndrome (MS) is often associated with anxiety and depression. Chaenomeles japonica (Thunb.) Lindl, also known as Chaenomeles maulei or Japanese quince, is a medicinal plant with a long history of use forits health-promoting properties. Aim The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of Japanese quince fruit juice (JQFJ) administration on locomotor activity, anxiety and depressive behavior in rats with diet-induced MS. Materials and methods Forty adult male Wistar rats were divided into 4 groups: MS, MS+JQFJ2.5, MS+JQFJ5 and MS+JQFJ10. All groups received a high-fat high-fructose diet for the induction of MS. MS animals were daily orally treated with distilled water and the other groups with JQFJ at doses of 2.5 ml/kg, 5 ml/kg and 10 ml/kg, respectively. During the 10th week of the experiment, behavioral tests were carried out. Results In the open Held test, no effect of JQFJ treatment on locomotor activity was observed. In the elevated plus maze test, a dose-dependent increase in the time spent in the open arms (OA) of the apparatus and in the ratio time spent in OA vs. total time spent in any of the arms was interpreted as an anxiolytic effect. The immobility time in the forced swim test did not differ significantly among the groups, which demonstrated a lack of anti-depressant action. Conclusions Chronic Japanese quince fruit juice administration produced a dose-dependent anxiolytic-like effect in rats with diet-induced MS, probably due to its high content of polyphenols.