Original article Justicia spicigera Schltdl. and kaempferitrin as potential anticonvulsant natural products $ Ma. Eva González-Trujano a, * , 1 , Fabiola Domínguez d , Gimena Pérez-Ortega a,d,e , Miguel Aguillón b , David Martínez-Vargas c , Salvador Almazán-Alvarado c , Adrián Martínez b, 1 a Laboratorio de Neurofarmacología de Productos Naturales, Dirección de Investigaciones en Neurociencias, Instituto Nacional de Psiquiatría “Ramón de la Fuente Muñiz”, Calz. México-Xochimilco 101, Col. Sn Lorenzo Huipulco, 14370 México, D.F., Mexico b Laboratorio de Sueño y Epilepsia Experimental, Dirección de Investigaciones en Neurociencias, Instituto Nacional de Psiquiatría “Ramón de la Fuente Muñiz”, Calz. México-Xochimilco 101, Col. Sn Lorenzo Huipulco, 14370 México, D.F., Mexico c Laboratorio de Neurofisiología del Control y la Regulación, Dirección de Investigaciones en Neurociencias, Instituto Nacional de Psiquiatría “Ramón de la Fuente Muñiz”, Calz. México-Xochimilco 101, Col. Sn Lorenzo Huipulco, 14370. México, D.F., Mexico d Centro de Investigación Biomédica de Oriente, IMSS, Metepec, Puebla, Mexico e Centro Regional de Investigaciones Multidisciplinarias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Av. Universidad s/n, Circuito 2, C.P.62210, Col. Chamilpa, Ciudad Universitaria de la Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, Cuernavaca Morelos, Mexico A R T I C L E I N F O Article history: Received 25 February 2017 Received in revised form 9 May 2017 Accepted 16 May 2017 Keywords: Electroencephalogram Flavonoids Justicia spicigera Kaempferitrin Pentylenetetrazol Traditional medicine A B S T R A C T Justicia spicigera Schltdl. is a vegetal species traditionally used to control epilepsy, but scientific evidence is required to reinforce this activity. The aim of the study was to evaluate the anticonvulsant-like activity of J. spicigera aqueous extract (JsAE) and a bioactive compound. JsAE was assessed in a dose-response manner (30, 100 and 1000 mg/kg, i.p.) using the pentylenetetrazol (PTZ)-induced seizures and maximal electroshock seizure (MES) test in mice in comparison to ethosuximide (ETX, reference drug 100 mg/kg, i. p.) or phenytoin (25 mg/kg, i.p.), respectively. Then a significant dosage (1000 mg/kg, i.p.) was chosen to examine electrographic activity (EEG) in rats. Treatment groups were compared to the vehicle and ETX in the convulsive behavior alone or simultaneous to EEG after PTZ-induced seizures (80 or 35 mg/kg, i.p., mice or rats). Kaempferitrin (a flavonoid of JsAE) and ETX were administered via intracerebroventricular (i.c.v, 4th ventricle, 1 mg/mL) and tested in the presence of PTZ in rats. Results confirmed that JsAE delayed the onset of seizures and reduced frequency of tonic convulsion and mortality in mice. JsAE or kaempferitrin also decreased the EEG spikes frequency and amplitude in a similar manner than EXT in rats. In conclusion, these preliminary data give evidence of the potential of J. spicigera as possible anticonvulsant as recommended in folk medicine for treating epilepsy, where kaempferitrin is suggested as a partial responsible bioactive compound. © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Different practical definitions may be formed and used for epilepsy, but at the end it is considered to be a disease that affects people in every country of the world [1,2]. A complete abolition of seizures in epilepsy seems today more attainable than before because of more accurate diagnosis of epilepsy syndromes, rational polypharmacy, surgical intervention and alternative therapy like the ketogenic diet [3]. Although, 70% to 80% of patients with this affliction control their seizures with minimal side effects, there are still 20% to 30% suffering from intractable epilepsy [4]. So epilepsy is a burden affecting no less than 50 million patients worldwide [5] $ This work was partially supported by Instituto Nacional de Psiquiatría Ramón de la Fuente Muñiz (INPNC12.3280) and CONACYT (80811, 226454 and 256448). * Corresponding author at: Dirección de Investigaciones en Neurociencias, Instituto Nacional de Psiquiatría “Ramón de la Fuente Muñiz”, Calz. México- Xochimilco No. 101, Col. Sn Lorenzo Huipulco, Delegación Tlalpan 14370, México, D. F., Mexico. E-mail addresses: evag@imp.edu.mx (M. E. González-Trujano), irmafabiolad@gmail.com (F. Domínguez), gimena.perorte@gmail.com (G. Pérez-Ortega), aguipan@imp.edu.mx (M. Aguillón), davmv@imp.edu.mx (D. Martínez-Vargas), salmazan@imp.edu.mx (S. Almazán-Alvarado), adrianmc@imp.edu.mx (A. Martínez). 1 Both authors contributed equally to this study. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biopha.2017.05.075 0753-3322/© 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved. Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy 92 (2017) 240–248 Available online at ScienceDirect www.sciencedirect.com