Adição de gordura saturada e gordura vegetal hidrogenada na dieta induz comportamentos tipo - depressivo e ansioso em Drosophila melanogaster

Abstract

Currently there is a high consumption of foods rich in saturated and transesterified fatty acids (FA), this inadequate consumption is associated with metabolic and neurological disorders, and may increase vulnerability to diseases such as anxiety and depression. A model for the study of human diseases is that of Drosophila melanogaster, conserving metabolic, signaling and behavioral pathways with humans. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the addition of saturated fat and hydrogenated vegetable fat in the diet would induce mimetic behavior to depression and anxiety in Drosophila melanogaster. The flies were exposed to hydrogenated vegetable fat (HVF) at the concentrations of Substituted hydrogenated vegetable fat (SHFV), HVF 10% and HVF 20%, and Lard (L) in the concentrations of substituted lard (SL), L 10% and L 20% for 7 days. The mortality, body weight and dietary intake of flies were evaluated. In addition, anxiety mimetic behaviors (through cleaning and light / dark tests) and depression (through forced swimming test) were analyzed. In addition, we evaluated the aggressive behavior of the flies, as well as the locomotor activity and the climbing ability through the open field and negative geotaxis tests, respectively. Lastly, serotonin (5HT) levels were dosed. It was observed that high amounts of HVF and L in the diet can cause a decrease in life expectancy and influence behavioral parameters, and that flies fed HVF diet at all concentrations presented behavior similar to anhedonia, anxiety and, in addition, a greater number of aggressive events when compared with the regular diet (DR). On the other hand, the flies exposed to the SL diet showed behavior similar to anhedonia in all concentrations, not presenting behavior similar to anxiety. However, there was an increase in aggressiveness in flies exposed to L 20%. In addition, there was a reduction in 5HT levels in flies exposed to HVF 10%, HVF 20%, SL, L 10% and L 20%. It is concluded that D. melanogaster can serve as an ideal model for the understanding of psychiatric disorders and that the type of AF offered in the diet can influence these disorders, demonstrating the importance of the composition of the FAs in the neural pathways, which may influence the signaling of neurotransmitters such as the 5HT assessed here, and thus, cause behavioral changes.