Protective action of nicotinic acid benzylamide in a variety of chemically-induced seizures in mice

Purpose the study aims to assess the anticonvulsant effects offered by benzylamide nicotinic acid (nic-bza) in many animal models of chemically-induced seizures (i.e.,pentylenetetrazole [ptz],pilocarpine [pilo],bicuculline [bic],α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid [ampa],kainic acid [ka],and n-methyl-d-aspartic acid [nmda]). additionally,it analyses side effects of administering nic-bza in the form of loss of co-ordination and memory impairment as evaluated in the rotarod and passive avoidance tests,respectively. results antiseizure activity of nic-bza was reported in numerous models of chemically-induced seizures and its ed50 value was 37.1 mg/kg for ptz,53.0 mg/kg for ampa,81.4 mg/kg for bic,86.3 mg/kg for ka,and 182.6 mg/kg for pilo. moreover,nic-bza was totally ineffective (in dosages of up to 200 mg/kg) in mice challenged with nmda-induced seizures. the evaluation of the side effects present shortly after dosing in the rotarod test has revealed neurotoxicity of nic-bza with experimentally determined td50 value of 188.5 mg/kg. protective index (pi) assessment analysis for nic-bza has disclosed a substantial difference between the dosage resulting in acute impairment of co-ordination and the dosage resulting in anticonvulsant effect in various chemically evoked seizures,remaining practically ineffective (in dosages of up to 200 mg/kg) in mice subjected to the nmda-induced seizure test. additionally,nic-bza (in dosages of up to 100 mg/kg) did not impair long-term memory in mice. conclusions summing up,nic-bza has a wide anticonvulsant effect in different experimental epilepsy models. © 2015 institute of pharmacology,polish academy of sciences. published by elsevier sp. z o.o. all rights reserved.