Pharmacological evaluation of novel flavone from morus alba in pentylenetetrazole-induced kindling and oxidative stress

The present study was designed to explore the effect of chronic administration of a new flavone [morusflavone, 5,7,4’-trihydroxy-8-(γ,γ-dimethylallyl)-2’,3’-(10’-hydroxy-9’,10’-dimethyl-cyclohex-8-enyl)-flavone (compound 1)] at doses of 25, 50, and 100 mg/kg, orally (p.o.) to pentylenetetrazole-induced kindling in rats (a model of human epilepsy). Compound 1 and four other compounds were isolated from the stem bark of Morus alba. The structure of compound 1 was elucidated and established using standard spectroscopic techniques, and malondialdehyde (MDA) and glutathione (GSH) were estimated as oxidative markers in brain tissues of rodents. The progression of kindling in rats was effectively and significantly suppressed at doses of 25, 50, and 100 mg/kg of compound 1. In addition, increased the levels of MDA and decreased levels of glutathione were also reversed by compound 1 in kindled rats. Compound 1 treatment was able to restore the reduced glutathione level in the brain tissues of PTZ-kindled rats, thus proving its neuroprotective potential.