Thymoquinone alone or in combination with phenobarbital reduces the seizure score and the oxidative burden in pentylenetetrazole-kindled rats

Abstract

Randa M. Mostafa, Yasser M. Moustafa, Zien Mirghani

Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological diseases that effect many functions of the brain in a pathologically disturbed manner. Treatment goals include the control of the frequency of seizures with absence of side effects. Phenobarbital (PB) is the drug of choice for treatment of many kinds of epilepsy. Since oxidative stress has been implicated in the pathophysiology of epilepsy, the present study was designed to assess the anticonvulsant potential of thymoquinone given alone or in combination with PB in pentylenetetrazole (PTZ)-kindled rats and to determine if thymoquinone can protect against oxidative burden in the current rat model. The results showed that the combination of PB and thymoquinone had additive anticonvulsant effect compared to monotherapy with PB. In addition, although treatment with PB alone showed a significant improvement in plasma malondialdehyde (MDA), erythrocyte reduced glutathione (GSH) levels, and erythrocyte glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity than PTZ-kindled rats, combination with thymoquinone showed more significant improvement in plasma MDA, erythrocyte GSH levels, erythrocyte GPx and glutathione reductase (GRd) activities compared to PTZ-kindled rats or rats received single treatment with PB. These results provide evidence that thymoquinone may have a significant anticonvulsant and antioxidant effect in the current model of chronic epilepsy when combined with PB.