Acute and chronic effects of oral administration of a medium‐chain fatty acid, capric acid, on locomotor activity and anxiety‐like and depression‐related behaviors in adult male C57BL/6J mice

Abstract

Aim Capric acid (also known as decanoic acid or C10) is one of the fatty acids in the medium‐chain triglycerides (MCTs) commonly found in dietary fats. Although dietary treatment with MCTs is recently of great interest for the potential therapeutic effects on neuropsychiatric disorders, the effects of oral administration of C10 on behavior remain to be examined. This study investigated acute and chronic effects of oral administration of C10 on locomotor activity and anxiety‐like and depression‐related behaviors in adult male C57BL/6J mice. Methods To explore the acute effects of C10 administration, mice were subjected to a series of behavioral tests in the following order: light/dark transition, open field, elevated plus maze, Porsolt forced swim, and tail suspension tests, 30 minutes after oral gavage of either vehicle or C10 solution (30 mmol/kg dose in Experiment 1; 0.1, 0.3, 1.0, 3.0 mmol/kg doses in Experiment 2). Next, to examine chronic effects of C10, mice repeatedly administered with either vehicle or C10 solution (0.3, 3.0 mmol/kg doses per day, for 21 days, in Experiment 3) were subjected to behavioral tests without oral administration immediately before each test. Results The mice administrated with the high dose of C10 (30 mmol/kg) showed lower body weights, shorter distance traveled, and more anxiety‐like behavior than vehicle‐treated mice, and the results reached study‐wide statistical significance. The C10 administration at a lower dose of 0.3 mmol/kg had no significant effects on body weights and induced nominally significantly longer distance traveled than vehicle administration. Repeated administration of C10 at a dose of 3.0 mmol/kg for more than 21 days caused lower body weights and decreased depression‐related behavior, although the behavioral differences did not reach study‐wide significance. Conclusions Although these results suggest dose‐dependent effects of oral administration of capric acid on locomotor activity and anxiety‐like and depression‐related behaviors, further study will be needed to replicate the findings and explore the underlying brain mechanisms.

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“…There was no difference between the MCT group and the control group for the forced swim test or the social exploration test [ 62 ]. A recent study found that the acute administration of a high dose of decanoic acid increased depression/anxiety in mice during the forced swim test [ 63 ]. In contrast, a seven-day treatment with virgin coconut oil, high in MCT, reduced immobility in the forced swim test and was associated with reduced serum cortisol and an increase in brain antioxidants [ 64 ].…”

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“…The effect of capric acid, an MCT, was also evaluated in a study of mice subjected to behavioral tests, the results of which mimic depressive behaviors ( 133 ). An acute high dose (30 mmol/kg) and chronic low dose (0.1–3 mmol/kg) of capric acid solution were administered to mice via oral gavage.…”

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“…The apparatus was placed 400 mm above the ground, with the mice able to move freely in all directions. The EPM test was conducted in a quiet room, and the illumination level of the central area was 100 lux [46]. Each tested mouse faced the open arm and was positioned in the center of the apparatus.…”