Anticonvulsant effect of phytol in a pilocarpine model in mice

The present study investigated the effects of phytol in pilocarpine-induced seizures. The latency for development of convulsions and mortality rate was recorded in this model using mice. The results revealed that phytol (25, 50 and 75 mg/kg, i.p.) increased latency to first seizure and decreased percentage of these seizures. Moreover, phytol also protected the animals against status epilepticus induced by pilocarpine, and decreased the mortality rate. Mice treated with pilocarpine (n=24) presented 100% of mortality during the first hour of observation. In turn, phytol-pretreated animals within 30 min before the administration of pilocarpine (400 mg/kg) remained alive during the first hour of observation. On the other hand, 6-8h after administration of pilocarpine it was observed that 10 (41.66%), 8 (33.33%) and 4 (16.66%) animals died (respectively). Thus, the pretreatment with phytol was able to block mortality rate during the first hour in acute phase of seizures, and significantly reduced this rate in a dose-dependent manner (p<0.05), suggesting an anticonvulsant effect. In addition, none of the phytol effects was blocked by pre-treatment with flumazenil, an antagonist of benzodiazepine receptors. In conclusion, phytol exhibits anticonvulsant activity by modulating of neurotransmitter systems, but further investigations are in progress to confirm this pharmacological property.