NATURAL COMPOUNDS AND THEIR ROLE IN APOPTOTIC CELL SIGNALING PATHWAYS Study of Antiseizure Effects of Matricaria recutita Extract in Mice M. R. Heidari, a Z. Dadollahi, b M. Mehrabani, c H. Mehrabi, d M. Pourzadeh-Hosseini, d E. Behravan, e and L. Etemad e a Department of Toxicology and Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Pharmaceutics – Neuroscience and Physiology Research Center, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran b Pharmacist, Faculty of Pharmacy, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran c Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran d General Physician, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran e Department of Pharmacodynamy and Toxicology, School of Pharmacy, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran Matricaria recutita L. is a well-known medicinal plant that is suggested as being carmi- native, analgesic, and anticonvulsant in traditional medicine. In the present investiga- tion the effect of hydro-methanolic percolated extract of this plant on seizure induced by picrotoxin was studied in male mice. This study was performed on animals pretreated with doses of 100, 200, and 300 mg/kg of extract or 40 mg/kg phenobarbital as the ref- erence drug via intraperitoneal injection. After 20 min each animal received 12 mg/kg picrotoxin for induction of seizure. Latency of onset time of seizure, duration of seizure, death latency, and death rate were determined in experimental and control groups. The results showed that latency of the beginning time of seizure was increased in groups that were pretreated with different doses of extract. The most effective dose was 200 mg/kg (P < 0.05). In addition, this dose delayed the time of death in mice (P < 0.01). The ex- tract had no effect on the death rate. The results indicate that the extract of M. recutita possesses suitable effects on seizure induced by picrotoxin, and more experiments are needed in this field. Key words: Matricaria recutita; seizure; picrotoxin Introduction Epilepsy is one of the most common neu- rological disorders with no age, racial, social, sexual, or geographical boundaries and affects about 50 million people worldwide. In devel- oped countries where drugs are easily available, epilepsy responds to treatment in up to 70% of patients. 1–3 Address for correspondence: Mahmoud Reza Heidari, Department of Toxicology and Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Kerman, P. O. Box: 76175-493, Iran. Voice: +98-341-3205001-2; fax: +98-341-3205003. heidarimr@kmu.ac.ir, heidarimr@yahoo.com Antiepileptic drugs are one of the products used for control of seizures. Duration of treat- ment of seizure is long, and therefore most antiepileptic drugs induce a wide range of prob- lems, such as the undesired effects of depen- dency during long-term therapy, that remain to be solved. This situation indicates the need for safe, novel, and effective antiepileptic drugs. 4 There is renewed worldwide interest in the use of plants to relieve or cure different diseases, among which are neurological disorders, such as epilepsy, which has a high incidence in the world population. 5–8 The empirical knowledge about medicinal properties of plants is the basis for their use Natural Compounds and Their Role in Apoptotic Cell Signaling Pathways: Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 1171: 300–304 (2009). doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.04917.x c  2009 New York Academy of Sciences. 300