Maternal Naringenin Supplementation During Pregnancy Disrupts the Redox Status in the Developing Rats’ Brain

Oxidative stress is a common aspect of nervous system diseases. Extensive experimental data have been demonstrating that high reactive oxygen and nitrogen species content may disrupt the redox signaling and induce oxidative damage to biomolecules, leading to neuronal dysfunction and death. Thereby, different approaches, such as the use of flavonoid supplementation, known by their antioxidant capacity, have been used to prevent or reverse oxidative stress and avoid neuronal death. Naringenin, a flavonoid commonly found in citrus fruits, has long been demonstrating strong antioxidant and neuroprotective properties in experimental models of neurological diseases. Such beneficial effects have brought interest in using the naringenin supplementation in different life periods, such as pregnancy, aiming to positively program the offspring's brain redox status to better resist insults during the postnatal life. However, recent data have been demonstrating that the beneficial effects elicited by naringenin supplementation in the adult are not observed in the developing brain, since it induced a prooxidant milieu, especially in the cerebellum. In addition, since redox signaling has an essential role in driving the neurogenesis process, any disturbance in the redox homeostasis elicited by naringenin supplementation during pregnancy might induce detrimental effects in the developing rodents’ brain.