[Effects of crocin on hippocampus rapid kindling epilepsy in mice]

Objective: To investigate the effect of crocin on the progression and generalized seizure of temporal lobe epilepsy in mice. Methods: Hippocampus rapid kindling model was established in C57BL/6J mice. The effects of crocin on seizure stage, afterdischarge duration (ADD), number of stimulation in each stage and final state, the incidence of generalized seizure (GS), average seizure stage and ADD were observed. Results: Crocin (20 mg/kg) significantly retarded behavioral seizure stages ( P<0.05) and shortened cumulative ADD ( P<0.01) during hippocampus rapid kindling acquisition in mice compared with vehicle group. Meanwhile, number of stimulations in stage 1-2 was significantly increased ( P<0.05) and the incidence of fully kindled animals was significantly decreased ( P<0.01). However, 10 or 50 mg/kg crocin showed no significant effect on the above indexes (all P>0.05). Crocin (100 or 200 mg/kg) significantly decreased the incidence of GS (all P<0.01) and reduced average seizure stages (all P<0.01) in fully-kindled mice compared with vehicle group; Fifty mg/kg crocin only reduced average seizure stages ( P<0.05). Conclusion: Low-dose crocin can retard the progression in hippocampus rapid kindling acquisition in mice, while high-dose crocin relieves the GS in fully-kindled mice, which suggests that crocin may be a potential anti-epileptic compound.