Rosuvastatin ameliorates anxiety but impairs skeletal muscle performance by malondialdehyde and calcium depletion in high fat diet-fed swiss albino mice

Background: The high intake of high calorie, high fat diets (HFD) with an associatedsedentary lifestyle has been linked with a number of neurobehavioral and neuromusculardisorders. This study aimed at investigating the effect of a lipid lowering drug -Rosuvastatin (ROS) on anxiety-like behavior and muscle strength in HFD-fed mice.Methods: The animals were grouped into four (n=5); Group 1 (normal chow and water adlibitum); Group 2 (HFD ad libitum); Group 3 (HFD + ROS); Group 4 (HFD for 5 weeksthen ROS for 1 week). Thereafter, mice were subjected to elevated plus maze (EPM) testand wire hanging test (WHT). Animals were then killed and brain samples homogenizedand assayed for neurotransmitters and antioxidants. The blood samples were assayed forcalcium, uric acid and Malondialdehyde (MDA).Results: The HFD significantly (p<0.05) heightened anxiety in the mice which wasameliorated by ROS. Muscle strength was however decreased with ROS. Brain levels ofdopamine and serotonin were not significantly affected (p<0.05) by ROS likewisesuperoxide dismutase (SOD) and Catalase. Serum calcium and MDA were significantlyreduced by ROS.Conclusions: High fat diet induced anxiety in the animals and improved muscle enduranceon exertion. Rosuvastatin ameliorated the anxiety but reduced muscle strength and theproposed mechanism is suppression of MDA and Calcium functions respectively