Vitamin C protects against the neuronal and oxidative damage of restraint water immersion stress in male adult albino rats

Mohamed, Abdelaleem Abdelnour; Abdel-Hakim, Selim Mahmoud; Abd El Rahman Mohammed, Mennatallah Adel; Khalil, Elzahraa Ibrahim; Kotb, Al Shaimaa Mahmoud

doi:10.21608/mjmr.2025.405084.2039

Vitamin C protects against the neuronal and oxidative damage of restraint water immersion stress in male adult albino rats

Articles in Press

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ Department of Medical Physiology, Minia Faculty of Medicine

² physiology department, faculty of Medicine, Minia university, Minia, Egypt

³ Department of pathology, minia university

10.21608/mjmr.2025.405084.2039

Abstract

Stress triggers the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis and sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and causes release of neurological markers such as neuron specific enolase (NSE) and S100B protein. The aim of the current work is to study the effects of different durations of restraint water immersion stress (RWIS) (3 hours and 12 hours) on NSE as a neuronal injury biomarker and the possible protective effects of vitamin C against stress. Our study found that serum and brain NSE levels were significantly higher in the 3h and 12h RWIS groups compared to the control group, and higher in the 12h-RWIS group. Pre-administration of L-ascorbic acid (L-AA) significantly decreased these levels, but not in the 12h-RWIS group. The 3h and 12h RWIS groups had significantly higher serum levels of cortisol, norepinephrine (NE) and glucose than the control group, as well as higher levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) and nitric oxide (NO) in the brain and serum. In comparison to the 3h-RWIS non-treated group, pre-administration of L-AA to the 3h-RWIS and 12h-RWIS groups led to a significant reduction in serum cortisol, NE, glucose, serum and brain MDA, and brain NO levels. Brain GSH decreased under stress but increased significantly after L-AA administration in both durations. In conclusion, stress alters BBB permeability, which can be assessed early by neurological markers like NSE. Vitamin C shows time-dependent protective effects against stress-related neuronal and oxidative damage.

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