The Effect of Hesperidin on the Cognitive-Behavioral Deficit in a Rat Model of Pentylenetetrazole-Induced Perinatal Seizures

Perinatal seizure with inducing oxidative stress causes serious damage to the fetal central nervous system and leads to cognitive-behavioral deficits. This study evaluates the effect of Hesperidin (HES) on cognitive and behavioral deficits in rats following perinatal seizures.

30 Wistar pregnant rats were randomly divided into 5 groups: control, pentylenetetrazole (PTZ) + NS, PTZ + HES 25, PTZ + HES50, and PTZ + HES 100. Animals were treated with repeated PTZ administration (40 mg/kg, intraperitoneally) from gestation day 14 for 5 consecutive days. Two hours before PTZ injection, the PTZ+NS group and the PTZ+HES groups were gavaged with either normal saline or HES (25, 50, or 100 mg/kg), respectively. The severity of seizure, delay in onset of a seizure in mothers, working and avoidance memory, and anxiety-like behaviors were assessed in one-month-old male infants.

A significant increase in seizure severity and a decrease in seizure delay were seen in PTZ-treated mothers. On the other hand, a significant decrease in behavior changes, avoidance memory, and hippocampal cell density was observed with increased anxiety levels in the infant of the PTZ+NS group compared to the control rats. However, HES-treated groups showed a significant increase in working and passive avoidance memory with a decreasing level of anxiety compared to the PTZ+NS group.

HES has anticonvulsant, anxiolytic, and memory-enhancing effects in the perinatal seizures in rats.