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Anticonvulsant Effects of Royal Jelly in Kainic Acid-Induced Animal Model of Temporal Lobe Epilepsy Through Antioxidant Activity

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Abstract

Temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) is the most common form of partial and drug-resistant epilepsy, characterized by recurrent seizures originating from temporal lobe structures like the hippocampus. Hippocampal sclerosis and oxidative stress are two important factors in the pathogenesis of TLE that exacerbate epileptic seizures in this form of epilepsy. Recently, royal jelly (RJ) shown to have neuroprotective and antioxidant activities in several neurodegenerative models. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the pretreatment effect of RJ on epileptic seizures, hippocampal neuronal loss, and oxidative stress in the rat model of kainic acid (KA)-induced TLE. To this aim, 40 male Wistar rats weighing 200–250 g were divided into 4 groups, including control, vehicle, KA, and RJ + KA. Rats received RJ (150 mg/kg/day) for 14 days before induction of TLE with KA. Epileptic behaviors were evaluated according to Racine’s scale. Oxidative stress markers including, malondialdehyde (MDA), total oxidant status (TOS) and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) as well as neuronal loss in the CA1 region of the hippocampus (using Nissl staining) were evaluated in all groups. Our findings showed that RJ pretreatment significantly reduced the seizure score and increased the latency to the first seizure. RJ also reduced MDA and TOS while increasing TAC. In addition, RJ reversed neuronal damage in the hippocampal CA1 and CA3 areas. In conclusion, our results suggest that RJ has anticonvulsant and neuroprotective effects in KA induced TLE via its antioxidative properties.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge Dr. Kambiz Hassanzadeh for his valuable advice and input on this project.

Funding

The authors are thankful to the Vice Chancellor's office for Research Affairs and the Cellular & Molecular Research Center, Research Institute for Health Development, Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences for the Grants supporting this work. (The effect of Royal jelly on epileptic behaviors and hippocampal oxidative stress indices in experimental model of temporal lobe epilepsy; Grant/Award/Proposal number: IR.MUK.REC.1399.029).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cellular and Molecular Research Center, Research Institute for Health Development, Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, Sanandaj, Iran

    Paria Hashemi & Esmael Izadpanah

  2. Neurosciences Research Center, Research Institute for Health Development, Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, Sanandaj, Iran

    Mohammad Raman Moloudi

  3. Liver and Digestive Research Center, Research Institute for Health Development, Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, Sanandaj, Iran

    Zakaria Vahabzadeh

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  1. Paria Hashemi
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PH: Conceptualization, methodology, investigation, formal analysis, original draft preparation, reviewing & editing. ZV: and MRM: Investigation, formal analysis, writing and reviewing. EI: Supervision, reviewing & editing.

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Correspondence to Zakaria Vahabzadeh or Esmael Izadpanah.

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Hashemi, P., Moloudi, M.R., Vahabzadeh, Z. et al. Anticonvulsant Effects of Royal Jelly in Kainic Acid-Induced Animal Model of Temporal Lobe Epilepsy Through Antioxidant Activity. Neurochem Res 48, 2187–2195 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11064-023-03897-w

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