In vivo and in vitro Assessment of Antioxidant Activity of Culcasia falcifolia Leaf Extract
A. Gracelyn Portia *
Department of Biological Sciences, Agriculture School of Science and Technology, University of Eastern Africa, Baraton, P.O. Box–2500, Eldoret–30100, Kenya.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Introduction: Epilepsy is one of the common neurological disorders that is characterised by repetitive seizures. Oxidative stress, free radical production and membrane lipid peroxidation occur as a result of epilepsy, which causes damage to the brain tissue. Seizure generation can be associated with the homeostatic imbalance between antioxidants and oxidants. Oxidative stress is the most prominent mechanism in the development and progression of epilepsy. It has been known that during an epileptic attack, oxidative stress occurs, free radicals are produced, and membrane lipid peroxidation happens, all of which cause tissue damage.
Aim: The study aims to evaluate the in vitro and in vivo antioxidant potential of the ethanol leaf extract of Culcasia falcifolia against pentylenetetrazole-induced oxidative stress.
Method: The extract was prepared by maceration using ethanol. Four groups of six mice were used for the in vivo studies. Group I (control group) received 0.1% CMC. Group II (positive control) received diazepam on the experimental day (5mg/kg body wt.). Group III and IV received 200 and 400 mg/kg body wt. of ethanol extract of C. falcifolia orally for fourteen days. On the fifteenth, all mice were sacrificed to remove the brains after the injection of PTZ (60 mg/kg i.p). MDA, SOD, CAT, GPX and GR levels were estimated from the brain tissue as part of the in vivo assessment. DPPH radical scavenging assay and ferrous ion chelating assay.
Result: The study suggests that the extract exhibits in vivo antioxidant property by increasing the levels of SOD, CAT, GPX and GR and decreasing the MDA level of the brain tissue significantly (p<0.05*). The in vitro studies also showed that the extract effectively scavenged free radicals and chelated ferrous ions, indicating strong antioxidant potential.
Conclusion: Both in vivo and In-Vitro studies demonstrate that the ethanol extract of Culcasia falcifolia possesses antioxidant activity against Pentylentetrazole-induced seizure in mice. These findings show that the extract has the ability to attenuate the oxidative stress caused by PTZ-induced seizure. The extract likely contains active phytochemicals, which may be responsible for in vivo and in vitro antioxidant activity against PTZ-induced seizure in mice. Further studies are needed to isolate the active compound to evaluate its therapeutic efficacy in epilepsy.
Keywords: Oxidative stress, epilepsy, antioxidant activity, free radicals, in-vivo and in- vitro assay, Culcasia falcifolia, Pentelyletertazole