Syringic Acid as a Potential Anticonvulsant Agent: Mechanistic Perceptions into Nitrite and Oxidative Stress Balance...

Nitrergic transmission and oxidative stress are complicated factors in the seizure's pathophysiology. Syringic acid has been revealed to exert numerous pharmacological properties, including neuroprotective effects. Hence, this research was designed to explore the anticonvulsant effects of syringic acid, focusing on its possible impact on nitrergic transmission and oxidative stress in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) in mice that underwent induction of seizure using pentylenetetrazole (PTZ).

Forty male NMRI mice were randomly divided into five groups, including mice that received saline containing Tween 80 at a concentration of 1% (10 ml/kg), syringic acid at doses of 10, 20, and 30 mg/kg, and diazepam (10 mg/kg). Syringic acid was dissolved in saline containing Tween 80 at a concentration of 1%. All drugs were injected intraperitoneally one hour before seizure induction by PTZ. Seizure threshold, total antioxidant capacity (TAC), nitrite, and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, as well as inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) gene expressions, were assessed in the PFC.

Syringic acid increased the seizure threshold and TAC, whereas it decreased MDA and nitrite levels in the PFC samples. Furthermore, syringic acid diminished the expression of iNOS and nNOS genes in the PFC.

Oxidative/nitrosative stress, which is involved in the pathophysiology of seizure, was alleviated by syringic acid.

It was concluded that, at least partially, the anticonvulsant property of syringic acid was mediated through the mitigation of oxidative stress and nitrergic transmission in the PFC in PTZ-induced seizures in male mice.