The present study investigates the potential neuroprotective effect of argan oil (AO), a natural vegetable oil, commonly used in folk Moroccan medicines, on adolescent intermittent ethanol intoxication (IEI), induced voluntary ethanol consumption, and withdrawal syndrome in rats. Animals were treated with ethanol (intraperitoneally [i.p.], 3 g/kg body weight [bw]) in intermittent doses (2 days on; 2 days off, from postnatal day 30–43), with/without oral AO pre-treatment (10 mL/kg/day bw, from postnatal day 21–121). A 2-bottle free access test was performed over 10 weeks to assess 10% ethanol consumption. Behavioral signs of withdrawal were observed after 2, 6, 24, 48, and 72 h after ethanol removal. Anxiety-like behaviors in the elevated plus maze and the light/dark box tests were also evaluated at 72 h of withdrawal. We found that AO pre-treatment significantly decreased the voluntary ethanol consumption induced by adolescent IEI. In addition, by establishing low ethanol consumption, AO pre-treatment counteracts negative effects of ethanol withdrawal and anxiety-like behaviors in ethanol-treated rats after 72 h of abstinence. Following behavioral assays, oxidative stress markers were evaluated and histologic analysis of neurodegeneration was also performed. The results showed that the low ethanol drinking in the AO-supplemented rats was associated with inhibition of oxidative stress and neurodegeneration in the rats’ brains. These findings provide evidence for the promising neuroprotective effect of AO supplementation in voluntary ethanol consumption and withdrawal syndrome, at least in part through counteracting oxidative stress markers and neurodegeneration.

本研究调查摩洛哥民间药物中常用的天然植物油摩洛哥坚果油 (AO) 对青少年间歇性乙醇中毒 (IEI)、诱导的自愿乙醇消耗和大鼠戒断综合征的潜在神经保护作用。动物用乙醇（腹腔注射 [ip]，3 g/kg 体重 [bw]）间歇性给药（服用 2 天；停药 2 天，从出生后第 30-43 天开始），有/没有口服 AO 预处理（ 10 毫升/公斤/天体重，从出生后第 21-121 天开始）。在 10 周内进行了 2 瓶免费访问测试，以评估 10% 的乙醇消耗量。在去除乙醇后 2、6、24、48 和 72 小时后观察到戒断的行为迹象。在高架十字迷宫和明/暗箱测试中的焦虑样行为也在戒断 72 小时时进行了评估。我们发现 AO 预处理显着降低了青少年 IEI 诱导的自愿乙醇消耗。此外，通过建立低乙醇消耗，AO 预处理抵消了乙醇戒断 72 小时后乙醇戒断和焦虑样行为的负面影响。在行为分析之后，对氧化应激标志物进行了评估，并且还进行了神经变性的组织学分析。结果表明，AO 补充大鼠低度饮酒与抑制大鼠大脑中的氧化应激和神经变性有关。这些发现为 AO 补充剂在自愿乙醇消耗和戒断综合征中具有良好的神经保护作用提供了证据，至少部分是通过抵消氧化应激标记物和神经变性。