Phenolic Compounds from Passiflora edulis and Their Effect on Social Behavior and the AMPA Receptor in a Preclinical Model of Autism
8 affiliations
- 1Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, Universidad Nacional de Trujillo, Trujillo 13011, Peru
- 2Pharmacology of Natural Products Group, Universidad Nacional de Trujillo, Trujillo 13011, Peru
- 3Laboratory of Natural Product Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, Universidad Nacional de Trujillo, Trujillo 13011, Peru
- 4Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, Universidad Nacional de Trujillo, Trujillo 13011, Peru
- 5Department of Pharmacotechnics, Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, Universidad Nacional de Trujillo, Trujillo 13011, Peru
- 6Biochemistry Laboratory, Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, Universidad Nacional de Trujillo, Trujillo 13011, Peru
- 7Molecular Processes and Translational Health Research Group, Biochemistry Laboratory, Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, Universidad Nacional de Trujillo, Trujillo 13011, Peru
- 8Centro de Investigación Biomédica y Aplicada (CIBAP), Escuela de Medicina, Facultad de Ciencias Médicas, Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Santiago 9170020, Chile
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition characterized by difficulties in social communication and interaction, and by restricted or repetitive behaviors. The study aimed to evaluate the neuroprotective potential of a phenolic extract of Passiflora edulis (EPE) on social behavior and neurochemical markers in a murine model of ASD induced by valproic acid (VPA). Pregnant female BALB/c mice (Mus musculus) were exposed to VPA (600 mg/kg on day 12.5 of gestation), and the offspring of both sexes were subsequently treated with EPE at doses of 50, 100, or 300 mg/kg for forty two days. The EPE was characterized by UHPLC-MS/MS, identifying vicenin-2, isoschaftoside, isoorientin, vitexin-2″-O-rhamnoside, and isovitexin. Behavioral assessments included locomotion, stereotypy, anxiety, social interaction, and memory. Biochemical analyses covered antioxidant enzymes (CAT, SOD, GPx) and mRNA expression of GluA1- and GluA2 AMPA receptor subunits. The results demonstrated a significant improvement in social behavior with a normalization of GluA1 subunit expression at 300 mg/kg. In conclusion, these findings suggest that phenolic compounds from Passiflora edulis ameliorate social deficits in the ASD model through modulation of glutamatergic signaling-specifically via GluA1 subunit RNA expression-mediated CAT and SOD antioxidant activity.
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BibTeX
@article{chungaflores2026phenolic,
title = {{Phenolic Compounds from Passiflora edulis and Their Effect on Social Behavior and the AMPA Receptor in a Preclinical Model of Autism}},
author = {Betsabé Chunga-Flores and Lucia Fátima Flores-Atoche and Gianfranco Ramos-Farfán and Gladys Galliani-Huamanchumo and Cristian Junior Paredes-Barros and Alejandrina Llaure-Mora and Felipe Rubén Rubio López and Edmundo A. Venegas-Casanova and Jesús Guzmán and Rafael Barra and Julio Campos-Florián},
journal = {Molecules},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3390/molecules31213876},
url = {https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/31/21/3876},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Phenolic Compounds from Passiflora edulis and Their Effect on Social Behavior and the AMPA Receptor in a Preclinical Model of Autism
AU - Betsabé Chunga-Flores
AU - Lucia Fátima Flores-Atoche
AU - Gianfranco Ramos-Farfán
AU - Gladys Galliani-Huamanchumo
AU - Cristian Junior Paredes-Barros
AU - Alejandrina Llaure-Mora
AU - Felipe Rubén Rubio López
AU - Edmundo A. Venegas-Casanova
AU - Jesús Guzmán
AU - Rafael Barra
AU - Julio Campos-Florián
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/27
JO - Molecules
DO - 10.3390/molecules31213876
UR - https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/31/21/3876
AB - Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition characterized by difficulties in social communication and interaction, and by restricted or repetitive behaviors. The study aimed to evaluate the neuroprotective potential of a phenolic extract of Passiflora edulis (EPE) on social behavior and neurochemical markers in a murine model of ASD induced by valproic acid (VPA). Pregnant female BALB/c mice (Mus musculus) were exposed to VPA (600 mg/kg on day 12.5 of gestation), and the offspring of both sexes were subsequently treated with EPE at doses of 50, 100, or 300 mg/kg for forty two days. The EPE was characterized by UHPLC-MS/MS, identifying vicenin-2, isoschaftoside, isoorientin, vitexin-2″-O-rhamnoside, and isovitexin. Behavioral assessments included locomotion, stereotypy, anxiety, social interaction, and memory. Biochemical analyses covered antioxidant enzymes (CAT, SOD, GPx) and mRNA expression of GluA1- and GluA2 AMPA receptor subunits. The results demonstrated a significant improvement in social behavior with a normalization of GluA1 subunit expression at 300 mg/kg. In conclusion, these findings suggest that phenolic compounds from Passiflora edulis ameliorate social deficits in the ASD model through modulation of glutamatergic signaling-specifically via GluA1 subunit RNA expression-mediated CAT and SOD antioxidant activity.
SN - 1420-3049
ER -