Neuroprotective effects of the elderberry diet on the methamphetamine-induced toxicity in rats: a behavioral,...

Methamphetamine (METH) harms nerve and glial cells in both animals and humans, impacting cognitive functions and leading to research on cognitive impairments in exposed animals. Elderberry (EB) contains numerous bioactive compounds and demonstrates various health benefits, which can be valuable for maximizing its use in the food industry. In the present study, we focused on the probable protective effects of EB on the devastating impacts of METH in the hippocampus, one of the critical areas in memory and cognition. Thirty-six rats were classified into three groups, including the control, METH (10 mg/kg ip for four weeks), and METH + EB (10 mg/kg ip METH plus the EB diet for four weeks). They underwent behavioral, electrophysiological, and histological assays. The findings show an improvement in the METH-induced memory decay and anxiety-like behaviors. Further, the EB diet recovered the population spike (PS) amplitude and the field excitatory postsynaptic potential (fEPSP) slope of the evoked potentials of the LTP components in hippocampus neurocircuits. We observed a remarkable drop in the number of hippocampal astrocytes in the METH + EB group compared to the METH group. The Sholl analysis showed an increase in the soma size and total process length in hippocampal astrocytes. Moreover, the EB diet improved neuronal cell arrangement in the hippocampus of rats. Though further research is required to clarify this matter, it seems that EB can have a protective effect on the memory-related variables. However, more research is needed to clarify this.