Introduction: Oxidative stress has been a hallmark in cognitive disorders; there is a need to mitigate it and a suitable model for cognitive assessment in rodents. This study investigates the effects of Vitamin E and Selenium yeast on the cognitive performance of pregnant dams using percentage alternation and discrimination index determinants.
Materials and Methods: Thirty-five Wistar rats were used for this study and grouped into seven (n=5); group 1 (non-pregnant), group 2 (pregnant), group 3 (pregnant + received vitamin E; 100 mg/kg/day) group 4 (pregnant + received selenium-yeast; 0.4 mg/kg/day), group 5 (pregnant + received yeast; 50 mg/kg/day) group 6 (pregnant + received selenium; 0.25 mg/kg/day) and group 7 (pregnant + received vitamin E; 100 mg/kg/day + selenium-yeast; 0.4 mg/kg/day). Discrimination index was evaluated using novel object recognition, apparatus, while percentage alternation was evaluated using Y-maze on day 19.
Results: Percentage alternation increased in group 1 and antioxidants treated groups respectively compared to group 2 (p˂0.05). Discrimination index significantly increased in group 1 and antioxidants treated groups compared to group 2 (p˂0.05).
Conclusion: The percentage alternation and discrimination index show promising results in the cognitive assessment of pregnant dams. Antioxidant molecules such as vitamin E and selenium-yeast potentiate the indices of cognitive improvement.
Key words: Pregnant dams, discrimination index, percentage alternation, vitamin E, selenium-yeast
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