Anthocyanins control neuroinflammation and consequent memory dysfunction in mice exposed to lipopolysaccharide Fabiano B. Carvalho 1 & Jessié M. Gutierres 1 & Andressa Bueno 2 & Paula Agostinho 3 & Adriana M. Zago 1 & Juliano Vieira 1 & Pâmela Frühauf 4 & José L. Cechella 1 & Cristina Wayne Nogueira 1 & Sara M. Oliveira 1 & Caroline Rizzi 5 & Roselia M. Spanevello 1,6 & Marta M. F. Duarte 7 & Thiago Duarte 4 & Odir A. Dellagostin 5 & Cinthia M. Andrade 1,2 Received: 4 November 2015 /Accepted: 3 May 2016 # Springer Science+Business Media New York 2016 Abstract Peripheral inflammatory stimuli may activate a brain neuroinflammatory processes with consequences in brain func- tion. The present study investigated if anthocyanins (ANT) consumption was able to prevent the memory loss, the neuronal damage, and the neuroinflammatory processes triggered by the intraperitoneal lipopolysaccharide (LPS) administration. C57BL6 male mice were treated with ANT (30–100 mg/kg by gavage). With a single dose or during 10 days, before be challenged with LPS (250 μg/kg intraperitoneally single ad- ministration), a classical inductor of inflammation. The data obtained showed that ANT was able to confer protection against the memory impairment after 10 days of ANT treatment (100 mg/kg). This phytonutrient also prevented the hypother- mia episode induced by LPS. Moreover, ANT prevented the increase in protein carbonyl, NOx, and MDA levels in the hippocampus and cerebral cortex (4 and 24 h) in animal chal- lenged with LPS. ANT showed a protective effect on the in- crease in the pro-inflammatory cytokines content, especially Interleukin (IL)-1β, tumoral necrosis factor-α and on the re- duction of IL-10 induced by LPS. ANT 100 mg/kg prevented the infiltration of peripheral immune cells in the hippocampus at 24 h post-LPS administration. In parallel, LPS increased the activity of myeloperoxidase in cortex and hippocampus, and ANT prevented this effect, also reducing microglia (Iba-1) and astrocyte (GFAP) immunoreactivity. Thus, our data support that ANT are a promising therapeutic component against brain disorders associated with process of neuroinflammation. Keywords Neuroinflammation . Anthocyanins . Memory . Oxidative stress . Microglia . Interleukins Introduction Peripheral inflammation has been considered to be one trigger of neuropathology onset and progression in several neurodegener- * Fabiano B. Carvalho fabiseco@yahoo.com.br * Cinthia M. Andrade cmelazzomazzanti@gmail.com 1 Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Biológicas: Bioquímica Toxicológica, Departamento de Bioquímica e Biologia Molecular, Centro de Ciências Naturais e Exatas, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Santa Maria, RS 97105-900, Brazil 2 Programa de Pós-Graduação em Medicina Veterinária, Departamento de Pequenos Animais, Centro de Ciências Rurais, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Santa Maria, RS 97105-900, Brazil 3 CNC-Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal FMUC-Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Coimbra 3004-517, Portugal 4 Programa de Pós-Graduação em Farmacologia, Centro de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Santa Maria, RS 97105-900, Brazil 5 Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biotecnologia, Unidade de Biotecnologia, Centro de Desenvolvimento Tecnológico, Universidade Federal de Pelotas, Campus Universitário, Capão do Leão, Pelotas, RS 96010-900, Brazil 6 Programa de Pós-Graduação em Bioquímica e Bioprospecção, Centro de Ciências Químicas, Farmacêuticas e de Alimentos, Universidade Federal de Pelotas, Campus Universitário, Capão do Leão, Pelotas, RS 96010-900, Brazil 7 Departamento de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Luterana do Brasil, Santa Maria, RS 97020 001, Brazil Mol Neurobiol DOI 10.1007/s12035-016-9900-8