Document Type : Special Articles

Authors

• Reza Karami ¹
• Mahmoud Hosseini ²
• Toktam Mohammadpour ³
• Ahmad Ghorbani ⁴
• Hamid Reza Sadeghnia ⁴
• Hassan Rakhshandeh ⁴
• Farzaneh Vafaee ³
• Mahdi Esmaeilizadeh ⁵

¹ Student Research Committee, School of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.

² Neurocognitive Research Center AND Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.

³ Neurogenic Inflammation Research Center AND Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.

⁴ Pharmacological Research Center of Medicinal Plants AND Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.

⁵ Esfarayen Faculty of Medical Sciences, Esfarayen, Iran.

Abstract

Background: An important role for oxidative stress, as a consequence of epileptic seizures, has been suggested. Coriandrum sativum has been shown that have antioxidant effects. Central nervous system depressant effects of C. sativum have also been reported. In this study, the effects of hydroalcoholic extract of aerial parts of the plants on brain tissues oxidative damages following seizures induced by pentylenetetrazole (PTZ) was investigated in rats.Methods: The rats were divided into five groups and treated: (1) Control (saline), (2) PTZ (90 mg/kg, i.p.), (3-5) three doses (100, 500 and 1000 mg/kg of C. sativum extract (CSE) before PTZ. Latencies to the first minimal clonic seizures (MCS) and the first generalized tonic-clonic seizures (GTCS) were recorded. The  cortical and hippocampal tissues were then removed for biochemical measurements.Results: The extract significantly increased the MCS and GTCS latencies (P < 0.01, P < 0.001) following PTZ-induced seizures. The malondialdehyde (MDA) levels in both cortical and hippocampal tissues of PTZ group were significantly higher than those of the control animals (P < 0.001). Pretreatment with the extract prevented elevation of the MDA levels (P < 0.010–P < 0.001). Following PTZ administration, a significant reduction in total thiol groups was observed in both cortical and hippocampal tissues (P < 0.050). Pretreatment with the 500 mg/kg of the extract caused a significant prevention of decreased in total thiol concentration in the cortical tissues (P < 0.010).Conclusion: The present study showed that the hydroalcoholic extract of the aerial parts of C. sativum possess significant antioxidant and anticonvulsant activities.