effects of hydro-ethanolic extract of tanacetum parthenium and its n-butanol and aqueous fractions on brain oxidative damage in pentylenetetrazole-induced seizures in mice

Background: epileptic seizures affect the life of noticeable number of people in all over the world. tanacetum parthenium (tp) is used in traditional medicine. we studied the effects of hydro- ethanolic extract of tp and its n-butanol and aqueous fractions on brain oxidative damage in pentylenetetrazole (ptz)-induced seizures in mice. methods: male mice were divided into: (1) control; (2) ptz (100 mg/kg, i.p.); (3-5) hydroethanolic extract of tp (50, 100 and 200 mg/kg); (6) n-butanol (nbut) (100 mg/kg) and (7) aqueous (aq) (100 mg/kg) fractions. extracts were injected (i.p.) for 3 days and 30 min before ptz. latencies in onset of minimal clonic seizures (mcs) and generalized tonic-clonic seizures (gtcs) as well as biochemical indicators were evaluated. results: medium dose of tp extract and nbut fraction prolonged the msc and gtcs latencies. biochemical data confirmed that administration of hydro-ethanolic extract of tp significantly reduced mda and enhanced total thiol content and the activity of sod and cat in brain tissues. comparison the effect of nbut and aq fractions with medium dose indicated a higher level of mda and lower amount of total thiol content and the activity of sod and cat in brain tissues of ptz-aq100 and ptz-nbut100 groups than ptz-tp100 group. conclusion: results demonstrated that the medium dose of tp extract had the most protective effect against brain oxidative damage in ptz-induced seizure model. n-butanol and aqueous fractions of tp could not exert stronger effect than medium dose on reduction ptz-induced brain oxidative stress.