The anticonvulsant effect of sparteine on pentylenetetrazole-induced seizures in rats: a behavioral, electroencephalographic, morphological and molecular study

AbstractAbnormal synchronous activity in neurons generates epileptic seizures. Antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) are effective in 70% of patients, but this percentage is drastically lower in developing countries. Sparteine is a quinolizidine alkaloid synthesized from mostLupine species and has a probable anticonvulsive effect. For this reason, the objective of the present work was to study the anticonvulsant effect of sparteine using a dose –effect curve and to determine its effectiveness against seizures using behavioral, electroencephalographic, morphological and molecular data. Wistar rats were grouped into control [saline solution (0.9%), pentylenetetrazole (90 mg/kg), and sparteine (13, 20 and 30 mg/kg), intraperitoneal (i.p.) ] and experimental (sparteine + pentylenetetrazole) groups. The rats were implanted with surface electrodes to register electrical activity, and convulsive behavior was evaluated according to Velisek’s scale. The rats were perfused to obtain brain slices for cresyl violet staining and cellular density quantification as well as for immunohistochemistry for NeuN and GFAP. Other animals were used to determine the hippocampal mRNA expression of the M2 and M4 acetylcholine receptors by qPCR. Sparteine exhibited a better anticonvulsant effect at a dose of 30 mg/kg (i.p.) than at the other dos es used. This anticonvulsant effect was characterized by a decrease in the severity of convulsive behavior, 100% survival, an inhibitory effect on epileptiform ...
Source: Journal of Molecular Histology - Category: Laboratory Medicine Source Type: research