Discuss The Effect Of Maca On Social Behavior Of VPA Autism Model And Its Mechanism

Objective: In this study,we used the valproic acid(VPA)autism model as the subject,to explore the influence of Maca on the social behavior of VPA autism model and the related mechanism.Methods: 1.The chemical components in Maca extract by water extraction were determined by LC-MS.2.C57/BL6 mice and ICR mice were randomly divided into normal control group and low(1.25g/kg)-,medium(2.5g/kg)-,and high-dose(5.0g/kg)Maca groups,and the mice were treated by gavage at 8:00 and 20:00 every day for 14 days,.Through the elevated plus maze test,open field test and three chamber test,the behavioral effects of Maca on two different strains of normal mice were observed.3.The activity of neurons in the related brain regions of the improved behavior strain mice was detected by c-fos protein,a common marker of neuronal activity in the proto oncogene c-fos gene family of immediate early genes(IEGs).4.VPA was intraperitoneally injected into pregnant mice at 12.5 days of gestation to establish maternal induction and produce offspring VPA autism model mice.Maca was used as the test drug.The low dose(1.25 g / kg),medium dose(2.5g / kg)and high dose(5.0g / kg)groups of Maca were given by gavage at8:00 and 20:00 every day for 14 days.The contents of 5-HT and DA in the plasma of the mice were detected by ELISA,and the effect of Maca of VPA mice were observed by tail suspension test,elevated plus maze test,open field test and three chamber test.Result:1.The chemical constituents of Maca extract were determined by LC-MS.The results showed that Maca extract contained a variety of chemical constituents and had a variety of pharmacological activities.2.The results showed that Maca had no significant effect on the social behavior of C57 / BL6 mice.Compared with the blank control group,the time of ICR mice entering the open arm increased significantly(P<0.01)and the times of entering the closed arm decreased significantly(P<0.05 or P<0.01 or P<0.001).In the open field test,compared with the blank control group,the total distance of ICR mice moving in the open field increased significantly(P<0.05 or P<0.01)in the medium and high dose groups of Maca.While compared with the blank control group,the social index,social novelty index and social memory index of low-dose Maca group were significantly increased(P<0.05)in the three chamber test,the social index and social novelty index of medium dose Maca group were significantly increased(P<0.05),and the social novelty index of high-dose Maca group was significantly increased(P<0.05)as well.3.Compared with the blank control group,the number of positive cells in VTA area of low-dose group and high-dose group was significantly increased(P<0.05 or P<0.01);the number of positive cells in VP area,NAcc and MPOA area of low-,medium-and high-dose group was also significantly increased(P<0.05 or P<0.001);compared with the blank control group,the number of positive cells in amygdala area of high-dose group was significantly increased(P<0.05).4.Compared with the model group,the levels of 5-HT and DA in the plasma of the blank control group,the low-,medium-and high-dose maca groups were significantly decreased(P<0.001).Compared with the model group,the immobility time of tail suspension in low-dose Maca group and medium-dose Maca group of VPA mice was significantly increased(P<0.05 or P<0.01);compared with the model group,the duration and times of entering open arm in blank control group and low-dose group were significantly increased(P<0.01);the times of entering closed arm in high-dose group were significantly decreased(P<0.05)at the same time.Compared with the model group,the duration and times of entering open arm in blank control group and low-dose group were significantly increased(P<0.01);compared with the control group,the duration of entering the closed arm in the blank control group and the low-and medium-dose groups of Maca was significantly reduced(P<0.05).In the open field experiment,the total distance of open field movement of blank control group,Maca low-,medium-and high-dose groups were significantly higher than that of the model group(P<0.05 or P<0.01).Compared with the model group,the social interaction time of the blank control group and the medium-dose group was significantly increased(P<0.05)in three chamber test;and the social novelty of the blank control group,low-,medium-and high-dose groups was significantly increased in the social preference stage(P<0.05 or P<0.01).In the stage of social memory,compared with the model group,the social memory index of the blank control group and the medium dose group was significantly higher(P<0.05).Conclusion1.Maca can improve the social behavior of ICR mice,and activate the brain regions of VTA,VP,NAcc,MPOA and amygdala at the same time,suggesting that these brain regions may be involved in the regulation of social behavior by Maca.2.Maca significantly improved the social behavior of VPA autism model mice,and its therapeutic effect may be achieved by regulating 5-HT and Da neurotransmitters.