Macaíba (Acrocomia intumescens Drude) pulp exerts anxiolytic-like effects in exercised rats

Acrocomia intumescens, commonly known as macaíba, is a native Brazilian palm species containing antioxidant compounds and unsaturated fatty acids, but it remains poorly explored. This study investigated the effects of macaíba (Acrocomia intumescens Drude) pulp supplementation, alone or combined with swimming exercise, on anxiety-like behavior and brain oxidative stress in rats. Forty-four rats were divided into four groups (n = 11 per group): sedentary control (CT), exercised control (CT-EX), sedentary macaíba (MC), and exercised macaíba (MC-EX). The MC and MC-EX groups received 1000 mg/kg/day of macaíba pulp by gavage, whereas the CT and CT-EX groups received distilled water. The exercised animals underwent one week of acclimation before starting the exercise protocol and, from the first to the eighth week of training, swam five days per week for 60 min per session. The MC-EX group exhibited greater anxiolytic-like behavior, as indicated by increased exploration of the central area (CA) in the open-field test (OF), increased time spent in the open arms of the elevated plus maze (EPM), increased time spent in the light compartment of the light–dark box (LDB), and lower cerebral malondialdehyde levels. Anxiolytic-like behavior was also observed in the MC group, as these animals made more entries into and spent more time in the open arms of the EPM. Both MC and MC-EX groups spent more time in the central area of the OF and exhibited a higher number of rearing episodes. These findings indicate that MC treatment induces anxiolytic-like behavior and reduces lipid peroxidation in the brain of rats. Moreover, these effects were enhanced when macaíba supplementation was combined with swimming exercise. Prolonged exercise was associated with anxiogenic-like behavior in rats. Macaíba pulp attenuated exercise-associated anxiogenic-like effects. Macaíba pulp was associated with anxiolytic-like effects in sedentary rats. The exercised control group showed higher cerebral MDA levels.