Effect of piperine on pentylenetetrazole induced seizures, cognition and oxidative stress in mice

Cognitive impairment in epileptics may be a consequence of the epileptogenic process as well as antiepileptic medication. Thus, there is need for drugs, which can suppress epileptogenesis as well as prevent cognitive impairment. In the present study, the effect of piperine was evaluated on the course of pentylenetetrazole (PTZ) induced seizures, learning deficit and oxidative stress `markers in mice. Male albino mice were injected with PTZ (65 mg/kg sc) on the 5th day of the treatment for the development of seizures. Spontaneous alternation behaviour was carried out on the 1st and the 5th day of the treatment after PTZ administration, while the oxidative stress parameters (malondialdehyde and glutathione) were carried out in the whole brain upon the completion of the behavioural assessment. The administration of piperine, 2 mg/kg significantly decreased the PTZ induced seizures and showed improvement in the learning deficit induced by PTZ as evidenced by the increased latency time and frequency of jerks and improvement in spontaneous alternation behavior (SAB). The findings suggest the potential of piperine as adjuvant to antiepileptic drugs with an added advantage of preventing cognitive impairment.   Key words: Cognitive impairment, piperine, pentylenetetrazole.