Effects of Thymus vulgaris L. in Acute and Chronic Epilepsy Models in Rats Induced by Pentylenetetrazole

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of Thymus vulgaris L. (TVL) on oxidative stress, motor coordination and learning/memory in acute and chronic epilepsy models in rats induced by Pentylenetetrazole (PTZ). To this end, 64 male Wistar-albino rats were randomly divided into eight groups with 8 rats each: (1) acute control (AC), (2) acute PTZ (APTZ), (3) acute PTZ + sodium valproate (APTZ+VPA), (4) acute PTZ + TVL (APTZ+TVL), (5) chronic control (CC), (6) PTZ kindling (PTZk), (7) PTZ kindling + VPA (PTZk+VPA) and (8) PTZ kindling + TVL (PTZk+TVL). Seizures were observed for 30 min after each PTZ injection and were scored. Acute PTZ-induced seizures were created by injecting a single convulsive dose of PTZ (60 mg/kg, ip) in acute groups. PTZ kindling was produced by injecting a subconvulsant dose of PTZ (35 mg/kg, ip) every other day, with 14 injections in total. No significant difference was found among the PTZk + VPA, PTZk, and PTZk + TVL groups with regard to seizure scores. No significant difference was found among all the 8 groups in the learning/memory tests conducted using the Morris Water Maze (MWM) test and the motor activity tests conducted using the rotarod test (P>0.05). The analysis of total antioxidant status (TAS), total oxidant status (TOS), and oxidative stress index (OSI) indicated that the administration of PTZ decreased the antioxidant capacity and increased the oxidant capacity. Moreover, the TVL administration established the oxidant/antioxidant balance, particularly in the chronic groups. Further studies are needed to investigate whether high doses of TVL have an effect on PTZ-induced seizure scores.