The Association of Malnutrition and Chronic Stress Models Does Not Present Overlay Effects in Male Wistar Rats

Chronic stress and protein-energy malnutrition (PEM) are both social problems resulting in physiological and behavioral alterations. In this present study an associative effects of PEM and chronic stress were evaluated through in Wistar rats. Four groups were established: standard diet– 19% of protein (Std); Std + stress; PEM–6% of protein and PEM + stress. In these groups were assessed physical, nutritional, hematological, histological parameters and anxiety-like behavior. There were a reduction of food intake, body mass and relative weight of the heart and thymus in the PEM group. The liver of the PEM animals presented a degenerative condition with steatosis and Kupffer cell hypertrophy and, additionally, a significant decrease in hematocrit percentages, in the number of red blood cells and in the concentration of hemoglobin and total protein. In those animals under stress and Std diet, there was observed an increase of the relative adrenal weights, an acute condition of leukocytosis with a predominance of neutrophils and an increase in the anxiety-like behavior. There was no overlapping/interaction among the anthropometric, biochemical, hematological and histological effects using PEM and stress in Wistar rats. The effects observed under experimental condition were those related to either PEM or stress, independently.