Behavioral and genoprotective effects of Vaccinium berries intake in mice Daniela Barros c,e , Olavo B. Amaral b,e , Ivan Izquierdo e , Laura Geracitano c , Maria do Carmo Bassols Raseira d , Amélia Teresinha Henriques a , Maria Rosana Ramirez a, ⁎ a Faculdade de Farmácia Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil b Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil c Departamento de Ciências Fisiológicas, Fundação Universidade Federal de Rio Grande, Rio Grande, RS, Brazil d Centro de Pesquisa Agropecuária de Clima Temperado, EMBRAPA, Pelotas, RS, Brazil e Pontificia Universidade Catolica de Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil Received 4 November 2005; received in revised form 24 April 2006; accepted 5 May 2006 Available online 21 June 2006 Abstract Studies have shown that supplementation with berries rich in anthocyanins are effective in reducing oxidative stress associated with aging, and are beneficial in reversing age-related neuronal and behavioral changes. However, there are few reports on other biological activities of these polyphenols, such as genoprotective effects. The present experiments were performed to study the possible effects of 30-day administration of a lyophilized extract of Vaccinium ashei berries on cognitive performance using step-down inhibitory avoidance, open-field habituation and elevated plus-maze tasks, as well as on DNA damage in the hippocampus and cerebral cortex. The present study showed that the extract significantly enhanced long-term memory in the inhibitory avoidance task, induced an increase in the number of crossings during open-field habituation and had an anxiolytic effect in the elevated plus-maze task. Moreover, the extract reduced oxidative DNA damage in brain tissue in vitro. These results suggest that supplementation with V. ashei berries to mice improves performance on memory tasks and has a protective effect on DNA damage, possibly due to the antioxidant activity of polyphenols, including anthocyanins. © 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Keywords: Vaccinium; Anthocyanin; Memory; DNA damage 1. Introduction Phenolic compounds are naturally occurring secondary metabolites from plants. They are present in fruits, vegetables, leaves, nuts, seeds, flowers and barks. These compounds are an integral part of the human diet and are also taken intentionally as medicinal preparations (Kuhnau, 1976; Kong et al., 2003). They act as inhibitors or activators for a large variety of mammalian enzyme systems, and as metal chelators and scavengers of free oxygen radicals (Sellappan et al., 2002; Ono et al., 2002). It has been suggested that free radical scavenging and antioxidant activities play an important role in the prevention of aging and disease-related free radical-induced damage (Joseph et al., 1998; Cantuti-Castelvetri et al., 2000; Youdim et al., 2000). As with other fruits, blueberries and bilberries contain a range of micronutrients which are essential for health. In particular, many types of berries contain a high level of vitamin C (ascorbic acid), folic acid, resveratrol, pterostilbene and piceatannol (Rimando et al., 2004). However, berries may have additional health benefits as they are also rich in phytochemicals such as anthocyanins and flavonols (Prior et al., 1998; Sellappan et al., 2002; Beattie et al., 2005). It has been hypothesized that additive and synergistic effects of these complex mixtures of phytochemicals, instead of a single component, are responsible for the health benefits derived from fruits and vegetables (Aruoma et al., 2003). The aim of this study was to carry out psychopharmacolog- ical screening to evaluate potential effects of a lyophilized extract of different cultivars from Vaccinium ashei, Reade (Ericaceae) berries, commonly known as rabbiteye blueberries, on memory, anxiety and locomotor performance, as well as on DNA damage in the hippocampus and cerebral cortex, which is Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior 84 (2006) 229 – 234 www.elsevier.com/locate/pharmbiochembeh ⁎ Corresponding author. Tel.: +51 3316 5243; fax: +51 3316 5437. E-mail address: cpgcf@farmacia.ufrgs.br (M.R. Ramirez). 0091-3057/$ - see front matter © 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.pbb.2006.05.001