Avaliação dos efeitos antiepiléptico e neuroprotetor do extrato de Passiflora nitida Kunth em modelo agudo de epilepsia do lobo temporal

Abstract

Epilepsy is a neurological disorder characterized by recurrent epileptic seizures in the CNS that affects the population worldwide, with Temporal Lobe Epilepsy (TLE) being the most common type among epilepsies. However, TLE is the one with the most drug refractoriness in the clinic. The analysis of the behavior and electrical activity of the brain through the exams used in the clinic enable the diagnosis of epilepsy, and the EEG is the most commonly used exam in the clinic. As it is a syndrome that leads to nervous tissue degeneration, there is a search for antiepileptic drugs with greater selectivity and fewer adverse effects to improve the treatment of drug-resistant patients. Literature reports that the genus Passiflora has anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anticoagulant, antiplatelet, antimicrobial, antihypertensive, anxiolytic, sedative and analgesic activities. Considering the potential of this genus, this project aimed to evaluate the antiepileptic and neuroprotective effects of Passiflora nitida extract in an acute model of temporal lobe epilepsy. To evaluate the action of the extract, male Wistar rats were divided into three groups and induced to status epilepticus (SE) for behavioral assessment, electroencephalic recording and evaluation of neuronal damage through histology of the brain of experimental animals. The result of the electroencephalogram showed that the Passiflora nitida extract showed control of the crises, corroborating the behavioral analysis of the experimental animals. The result of damage to neurons in the hippocampus regions demonstrates that with the administration of the hydroethanolic extract of P. nitida there was a reduction in neuronal damage in the dentate gyrus region of the dorsal hippocampus, demonstrating that the extract has a neuroprotective effect in this region during SE in an acute model of temporal lobe epilepsy.