Effect of Ingestion of Rice Bran Drink in Rats Subjected to Forced Swimming and Elevated Plus Maze Tests

Bran cereals are known to contain substantial concentrations of important nutrients, bioactive compounds, fiber, minerals, proteins, lipids, and vitamins. The vitamins present in rice bran include those of the B complex (B(1) and B(3)), which affect the central nervous system (natural antidepressant and tranquilizer effects) acting in schizophrenia, neuralgia, and fatigue. The elevated plus maze (EPM) test is a model widely used for the study of anxiety in animals. The forced swimming (FS) test is the model used most often for evaluating the antidepressant activity in animal models in pharmacology. This study examined the behavior of 32 male Wistar rats, 21 days old, in the FS and EPM tests after treatment with strawberry- or chocolate-flavored rice bran drink for 28 days. The concentration of adrenocorticotropic hormone in the plasma of the animals was determined at the beginning and end of treatment. The values found (<1.0 mg/dL) showed no significant difference between the test and control groups in the periods analyzed. In the EPM, ingesting the chocolate-flavored drink showed an anxiogenic trend in the rats, and the strawberry-flavored rice bran drink led to an anxiolytic profile, although the difference was not statistically significant (P > .05). In the FS test, the duration of immobility of rats in groups consuming rice bran drinks was higher than in the control group, but without a statistically significant difference (P > .05). However, this result may indicate a tendency toward an effect on the central nervous system of the animals after the ingestion of the rice bran beverage.