Title: Aqueouslyophilisate of malvaviscus arboreus dill. Ex cav.lLeaves exerts antiepileptogenic properties via a modulation of gabaergic neurotransmission, neuroinflammation and oxidative stress in rats

Abstract

Epilepsy remains one of the most challenging neurological disorders worldwide and particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, where the epilepsy treatment gap remains very high. The present study thus aimed to evaluate the antiepileptogenic properties of Malvaviscus arboreus in rats. Apart from the vehicle, animals were challenged with Pentylenetetrazole (PTZ) (70mg/kg). All the challenged animals were later divided into the treatment groups (negative control, valproate 300 mg/kg, M. arboreus 122.5, 245 and 490 mg/kg). Except the vehicle, all the other groups were subjected to kindling PTZ, consisting of repeated administration of PTZ at a dose of 35 mg/kg every other day. The percentage of protection against seizure and the seizure progression were assessed. TNFα and TGFβ1 levelswere assessed using ELISA.GABA, GABA transaminase and oxidative stress were assessed in the hippocampus using spectrophometric assay and histological analysis using cresyl-violet staining. Results showed that the aqueous extract of M. arboreus leaves at a dose of 245 mg/kg significantly increased the number of injections needed to reach the kindled state (p<0.001) and protected animals against the development of epilepsy (P<0.001). The lyophilisate significantly decreased the activity of GABA transaminase (p<0.01), the levels of TNFα (P<0.001), TGFβ1 (P<0.001) and Malondialdehyde (P<0.05), and increased the concentration of GABA (p<0.05), Reduced Glutathione (p<0.001) and Catalase (p<0.001), and also preserved the architecture of the hippocampus and prevented necrosis of neurons. The aqueous lyophilisate of the leaves of M. arboreus thus has antiepileptogenic properties and could therefore be of great benefit in the alternative and complementary therapy of epilepsy.