Lavender and Rosemary Essential Oils as a Promising Intervention for Valproic acid induced Autism: Behavioral and Oxidative Stress Mitigation

Background:Autism spectrum disorder(ASD)represented by challenges in cognition, communication skills and showed repetitive activities. Valproic acid (VPA) is a prescribed medication used for managing epilepsy, migraine and mood disorders. However, prenatal VPA exposure increased the risk of ASDin children.Methods:This experiment involved Wister albino rats which are equally divided into five groups. Normal control group contain rat pups from untreated female rats and the remaining four groups were from female rats that received 600 mg/kg of VPA at gestation day of 12.5, and classified as an untreated VPA-induced autism group, risperidone-treated group, LEO-treated group and REO-treated group. Treatments were administered from PND 15 to PND 45. Neurobehavioral tests and anti-oxidant activity were examined at the end of experiment along with histopathological and immunohistochemical examination.Results:At PND-45, treatment with risperidone, lavender essential oil, and rosemary essential oil significantly improved alternation performance and transfer latency relative to untreated VPA group (p < 0.001), indicating partial restoration of working memory function. Treatment with risperidone, lavender essential oil, and rosemary essential oil significantly increased mobility time relative to the untreated VPA group (p < 0.001), indicating improved motor and exploratory behavior. At PND-45, all treated VPA-induced autism groups showed a significant increase in time spent in the open arm compared to both the control and untreated VPA groups (p < 0.001), indicating reduced anxiety-like behavior. In open field the treatment with RISP, LEO, and REO significantly reduced crossings compared to the untreated VPA group (p < 0.001). Conclusion:Lavender and Rosemary Essential Oils showed beneficial effects by reducing oxidative stress and improved different behavioral outcomes. Future studiesshould focus on clarifying the precise molecular mechanisms through which lavender and rosemary essential oils exert their neuroprotective effects in valproic acid-induced autism models