The effect of acute and chronic harmaline administration on penicillin-induced epileptiform activity in rats

Authors : Kayhan Özkan, Şerif Demir

Pages : 304-317

Doi:10.21673/anadoluklin.1433359

View : 72 | Download : 104

Publication Date : 2024-09-23

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :Aim: Harmaline (HR) is a monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOi) and antioxidant alkaloid obtained from Banisteriopsis caapi and Peganum harmala, where experimental studies have been conducted to support modern medicine. The electrophysiological impact of short-term and long-term HR treatment on the penicillin G-induced epileptic model in rats was examined in this study. Methods: Eighty-four adult male Wistar rats were randomly assigned to two groups: one received a single dose/day of HR, and the other received repeated doses/days of HR. Each group was further divided into six subgroups based on the dose of HR (10, 50, and 100 mg/kg). Epileptiform activity (EA) was triggered in the experimental groups with intracortical penicillin administration. Electrophysiological data were collected and analyzed using electrocorticography (ECoG). The serum levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and glutathione reductase (GR) were measured using the Enzyme-Linked Immuno Sorbent Assay (ELISA) method to assess the free radical scavenger effects of HR. The latency, frequency, and amplitude of EA waves and serum antioxidant marker levels were analyzed statistically. Results: There was no observed EA in the sham group. Nevertheless, the results showed that both acute and chronic HR treatment increased the seizure threshold dose-dependently (p<0.05). It was observed that the acute HR group reduced the frequency and amplitude of spike-wave discharges up to the 10th period, compared to the control and other groups, and did not affect these parameters in the remaining periods. No significant difference was observed in the chronic groups in terms of spike wave frequency and spike-wave amplitude, except for some time periods. In addition, while there was a significant increase in antioxidant enzyme levels of the chronic HR group compared to the control and other groups (P<0.05), there was no significant difference in the acute groups. Conclusion: It was observed that HR did not affect spike wave frequencies and amplitudes in all acute groups, except for the 10th period and in chronic HR groups. HR prolonged the latency to first EA onset in acute and chronic groups and may have an antioxidant effect with long-term use.
Keywords : Antioksidanlar, elektrokortikografi, epilepsi, harmalin, monoamin oksidaz

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