Dietary alpha-lipoic acid prevents depression-like and anxiety-like behavior under aircraft noise exposure in young adult male mice

Objective

Alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) can act as a dietary supplement with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties and an exercise-mimetic therapy. In this study, we hypothesized that dietary supplementation with ALA would protect against aircraft noise (AN)-induced depression-like and anxiety-like behaviors and spatial memory loss in a mouse mode.

Methods

Mice were randomly divided into four groups. Group 1 and group 2 mice received vehicle diet plus non-AN and vehicle diet plus AN 2h daily for 6 weeks, respectively. Group 3 and group 4 mice received ALA diet plus non-AN and ALA diet plus AN 2h daily for 6 weeks, respectively. Six weeks later, neurobehavioral function, intestinal and blood-brain barrier permeability, stress reactions, and blood levels of endotoxin, pro-inflammatory cytokines, and oxidative damaged markers in the blood or other tissues were assessed for these groups of mice.

Results

Compared with controls, AN mice with ALA had a lesser extent of depression-like and anxiety-like behavior and spatial memory loss, exacerbated stress reactions, gut barrier disruption, endotoxemia, blood-brain barrier disruption, and inflammatory and oxidative injury to the heart, duodenum and hippocampal tissues. All the depression-like and anxiety-like behaviors, spatial memory, and causative factors that occurred during AN exposure were all significantly (P < 0.01) attenuated by ALA supplementation.

Conclusions

These findings suggest that AN can lead to exacerbated stress reactions, endotoxemia, blood-brain barrier disruption, hippocampal inflammation, and oxidative stress, which may act as causative factors for depression-like and anxiety-like behavior and spatial memory loss. ALA, an anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and exercise-mimetic agent, inhibited aircraft noise-induced depression-like and anxiety-like behavior in mice.