Abstract

The exposure to agents acting on GABA-A system during gestation in rats can produce behavioral alterations in their descendants in the adult life. This work was designed to evaluate the effects of the exposure to Valeriana officinalis L. during gestation on the development of the offspring and on their anxiety state and memory in the adult stage. Pregnant rats were randomly distributed into four groups (n = 10): control (1 ml distilled water) and three valerian-treated groups with the doses T-500 (500 mg/kg/day), T-1000 (1000 mg/kg/day) and T-2000 (2000 mg/kg/day). After birth, maternal behavior was evaluated and the physical and reflexological development of the offspring was assessed. The anxiety and memory were evaluated at 90 days of age. Maternal behavior was not affected by treatment with valerian. The offspring exhibited some alterations on the day of appearance of physical signs, which did not affect the adult life, whereas similar days of appearance of the reflexes were observed among the groups. No significant difference was detected in the offspring in the anxiety and memory tests. Therefore, no alterations in the neonatal and neurobehavioral development of rats exposed to valerian during intrauterine life were found in the present work.

Key words: Valerian, pregnancy, gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA), neonatal development, anxiety, memory.