Abstract
Our present study aimed to determine the antiepileptic activity of matrine, and explore the possible molecular mechanism. To evaluate the antiepileptic activity of matrine, seizures in mice induced by PTZ and MES were established, then the pentobarbital sodium-induced anaesthetizing time and locomotor activity tests in mice were also carried out. For the molecular mechanism investigations, contents of aspartic acid (Asp), gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), glutamic acid (Glu), glycine (Gly) in seizures mice were determined; then, the chronic seizures rats induced by PTZ were prepared, and western blotting was used to determine the expressions of GAD 65, GABAA and GABAB in the brains. In the results, matrine showed significant antiepileptic effects on seizures mice induced by MES and PTZ. Moreover, the pentobarbital sodium-induced anaesthetizing time and locomotor activity tests were also demonstrated that matrine had obvious antiepileptic effects. Additionally, our results revealed that after treatment with matrine, contents of GABA can be elevated, and the contents of Glu were obviously decreased. Furthermore, western blotting revealed that the mechanism regarding the antiepileptic effect of may be related to the up-regulations of GAD 65 and GABAA in the brain. Collectively, we suggested that matrine can be developed as an effective antiseptic drug.
Highlights
Epilepsy, a common chronic neurological disorder, is characterized by recurrent unprovoked seizures, leading to suffering in an estimated 50 million people worldwide [1,2]
glutamic acid (Glu) can be significantly decreased in a dose-dependent manner by treatment with matrine at 15, 30 and mg/kg (p < 0.05, p < 0.01, and p < 0.01, respectively)
We demonstrated that the expressions of Glutamic acid decarboxylase 65 (GAD 65) and GABAA can be up-regulated in the brain of epileptic mice by treatment with matrine, which is a potential molecular mechanism of matrine for treatment of epilepsy
Summary
A common chronic neurological disorder, is characterized by recurrent unprovoked seizures, leading to suffering in an estimated 50 million people worldwide [1,2]. It is necessary to discover new and reliable therapeutic agents with few side effects for treating epilepsy. Plant-derived natural extracts or compounds have been used in folk medicine for thousands years for treating various diseases. More and more attention has been paid to plant-derived medicines [6,7]. To the best of our knowledge, there is no report on the antiepileptic effect of the matrine. As a part of our systematic search for new antiepileptic agents from plants, the matrine was found to have significant antiepileptic effect in our preliminary experiment. The present study aimed to systemically investigate the antiepileptic effects of matrine in mice and rats, which has significant reference value for using matrine to treat epilepsy in clinics
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