Consumo do óleo e do resíduo vegetal de castanha do Brasil (Bertholletia excelsa): avaliação do desempenho de memória em ratas tratadas durante a gestação e a lactação.

Abstract

Brazil Nut is an oleaginous fruit native to the Amazon and sold all over the world. In its composition it has several types of nutrients and a significant amount of polyunsaturated fatty acids. These compounds act by influencing the performance of several brain functions, including functions related to behavior and learning, such as memory. This study aimed to investigate the impact of maternal consumption of crude oil and vegetable residue from Brazil nuts on memory behavior in rats treated during pregnancy and lactation. Twenty-four Wistar rats were used, later divided into four groups: Control Group (CT), Crude Oil (OB), Soybean Oil (OS) and Vegetable Residue (RV). After the formation of groups, the rats went through the mating phase, with the confirmation of pregnancy, supplementation began to be offered by gavage. At the end of lactation, behavioral tests were performed again and, subsequently, the animals were euthanized. Data were analyzed using Graph Pad Prism version 7.0 software. There was a lower food consumption by the OB and OS groups. In the open field habituation test, the OB and RV groups showed lower locomotion activity in the second exposure. In the tests of recognition of objects of memory in the short and long term, the animals in the OB and RV groups explored more the new object in relation to the familiar object. Thus, it was found that animals supplemented with crude oil and bagasse from Brazil nut vegetable residue showed greater memory and learning capacity, by evaluating the behavioral tests to which they were submitted.