Vitamin B 12 Ameliorates Pesticide-Induced Sociability Impairment in Zebrafish (Danio rerio): A Prospective Controlled Intervention Study.

Simple Summary: Dietary vitamin supplementation is frequently mentioned as an alternative therapy for people with autism but is still controversial due to a lack of studies. The current study described a hypothetical real-life situation and evaluated the effect of vitamin B₁₂ on the behavior of zebrafish. Vitamin-treated fish showed behavioral improvements after 14 days of daily exposure. In addition, the presence of the vitamin improved the redox state, leading to increased activity of antioxidant enzymes. Constant exposure to a variety of environmental factors has become increasingly problematic. A variety of illnesses are initiated or aided by the presence of certain perturbing factors. In the case of autism spectrum disorder, the environmental component plays an important part in determining the overall picture. Moreover, the lack of therapies to relieve existing symptoms complicates the fight against this condition. As a result, animal models have been used to make biomedical research easier and more suited for disease investigations. The current study used zebrafish as an animal model to mimic a real-life scenario: acute exposure to an increased dose of pesticides, followed by prospective intervention-based therapy with vitamin B₁₂ (vit. B₁₂). It is known that vit. B₁₂ is involved in brain function nerve tissue, and red blood cell formation. Aside from this, the role of vit. B₁₂ in the redox processes is recognized for its help against free radicals. To investigate the effect of vit. B₁₂, fish were divided into four different groups and exposed to a pesticide mixture (600 μg L⁻¹ fipronil + 600 μg L⁻¹ pyriproxyfen) and 0.24 μg L⁻¹ vit. B₁₂ for 14 days. The impact of the compounds was assessed daily with EthoVision XT 11.5 software for behavioral observations, especially for sociability, quantified by the social interaction test. In addition, at the end of the study, the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and malondialdehyde (MDA) were measured. The results showed significant improvements in locomotor activity parameters and a positive influence of the vitamin on sociability. Regarding the state of oxidative stress, high activity was found for SOD and GPx in the case of vit. B₁₂, while fish exposed to the mixture of pesticides and vit. B₁₂ had a lower level of MDA. In conclusion, the study provides new data about the effect of vit. B₁₂ in zebrafish, highlighting the potential use of vitamin supplementation to maintain and support the function of the organism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]