| Abstrakt: |
Background and Objectives: The stress caused by maternal separation in the early days after birth induces autistic behaviors. Hypericin has many biological properties, including antidepressant and anti-inflammation. Therefore, this study aimed at determining hypericin effect on autism behaviors that induced by maternal separation model. Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, Wistar rats were divided into two control and maternal separation groups. The rats in the maternal separation group were subjected to individual separation from their mother for 1 h per day (postnatal day1-9). The maternal separation group was divided into 4 subgroups: Autism, fluoxetine, hypericin (10mg/kg), hypericin (50mg/kg). Treatment was gavaged in pups on postnatal day 21-34. In the end of day 34, neurobehavioral tests (grooming, social interaction and open field test) were carried out. Statistical analysis and between group comparison were performed using one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey's test. Results: In the pups subjected to individual isolations from their mother, social deficits (p=0.007), excessive repetitive behavior (p=0.001), and anxiety (p=0.001) were increased. Whereas, hypericin could reduce repetitive behaviors index (p=0.011), anxiety (p=0.001) and social interaction deficits (p=0.031) in the maternal isolation autism rat model. Conclusion: These findings indicated that maternal separation may produce autistic-like behaviors, and hypericin through antidepressant effect may be a potential therapeutic agent against autistic-like behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
