AUTHOR=Morin Alexandre , Van de Beeck Lise , Person Emmanuelle , Plamondon Helene 

TITLE=Adult Male Rats Show Resilience to Adolescent Bisphenol A Effects on Hormonal and Behavioral Responses While Co-Exposure With Hop Extracts Supports Synergistic Actions

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Toxicology

VOLUME=Volume 3 - 2021

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/toxicology/articles/10.3389/ftox.2021.639820

DOI=10.3389/ftox.2021.639820

ISSN=2673-3080

ABSTRACT=The adolescent period, marked by sexual and brain maturation, has shown sensitivity to various environmental disrupters. Exposure to the xenoestrogen bisphenol A (BPA) is known to alter physiological and behavioral responses although its role at this critical period remains largely unknown. Recent research further suggest biochemical and genomic effects of BPA to be mitigated by various natural compounds, while effects on behavior have not been examined. This study was designed to (1) the effects of dietary BPA during adolescence on endogenous corticosterone (CORT) secretion, emotional behavior and testosterone (T) in adulthood, and (2) the impact of combined exposure BPA with hop extracts (Hop), a phytoestrogen with anxiolytic properties. To do so, four groups of male Wistar rats (postnatal day- PND - 28) were administered corn oil (control), Hop (40 mg/kg), BPA (40 mg/kg), or BPA-Hop by oral gavage for 21 days (PND 28-48). Blood droplets collected on PNDs 28, 48, and 71 served to measure CORT and T changes. As adults, rats were tested in the elevated plus maze, the social interaction test, and the forced swim test. Our findings demonstrated elevated anxiety and a trend toward depressive-like behaviors in BPA- compared to hops-exposed rats. However, BPA intake had no impact on basal CORT levels, or adulthood T secretion and sociability. These findings support the adolescence period to be less sensitive to deleterious BPA effects compared to the gestational or perinatal periods. Notably, the observation of ameliorative effects on anxiety from co-exposure with hop extracts is consistent with mounting evidence supporting BPA’s biochemical responses to be regulated by other natural compounds.