Evaluation of the protective effect of Benfotiamine against neurotoxic effects, depression and oxidative stress induced by noise exposure

According to reports on the significant impact of oxidative stress caused by noise exposure on the development of cognitive, behavioral and functional impairments in the brain, as well as the beneficial effect of antioxidants in mitigating neurotoxicity and behavioral issues, this study aimed to investigate the outcomes of noise exposure and evaluate the protective effect of Benfotiamine against the neurotoxic effects, depression and oxidative stress caused by noise exposure. In this study, adult male BALB/c mice were randomly divided into groups of 10 animals each: Control (C), Noise exposure (N), Noise exposure with 100 mg/kg of Benfotiamine (NB1), noise exposure with 200 mg/kg of Benfotiamine (NB2) and noise exposure with N-acetylcysteine (NN). Depressive-like behavior was assessed using the Tail Suspension Test (TST), Forced Swimming Test (FST) and Sucrose Preference Test (SPT). Oxidative biomarkers were quantified by measuring Total Antioxidant Capacity (TAC), Malondialdehyde (MDA), Glutathione (GSH) and Protein Carbonyl (PC). The study found that noise exposure led to a significant increase in depressive symptoms (p > 0.05) and a 112.9% increase in immobility time in the tail suspension test (p < 0.001). This resulted in an average immobility time of 154 ± 13.45 compared to the control group (72.33 ± 5.03). Also, noise exposure corresponded to a substantial 73% increase in MDA levels (20.87 ± 3.7) compared to the control group's levels (12.05 ± 2.06), along with a significant 45.2% reduction in TAC levels. Benfotiamine, when administered at a dosage of 200 mg/kg, has shown high effectiveness in enhancing behavioural changes and reducing oxidative stress in brain tissue. However, a 33.9% reduction in MDA levels was observed in the NB2 group, compared to the N group (from 20.87 ± 3.7 to 13.79 ± 3.49). Benfotiamine also appears to be more effective than N-acetylcysteine in reducing noise exposure effects. The findings confirm that noise contributes to oxidative stress in the brain and the development of depressive-like behaviors, while also highlighting the protective effects of Benfotiamine against noise-induced damage.