title: Effects of Luteolin on Liver, Kidney and Brain in Pentylentetrazol-Induced Seizures: Involvement of Metalloproteinases and NOS Activities.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Flavonoids are an important group of recognized antioxidants in plants. Luteolin (LUT) is a natural flavonoid in the plant kingdom. This study was aimed to investigate the effects of the LUT in the liver, kidney and brain of pentylentetrazol (PTZ)-induced seizure and the relationship between nitric oxide synthases (iNOS, eNOS) and matrix metalloproteinases (MMP2, MMP9).
  
  
  METHODS
  LUT (10 mg/kg) was given intraperitoneally during two weeks prior to seizure induction. A single dose PTZ 80 mg/kg i.p. was administered and seizures were observed and evaluated with regard to latency, frequency and stage for one hour.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Seizure frequen cy after PTZ administration was significantly decreased in LUT pretreated rats (p<0.05). An increase of immunhistochemical reactions of iNOS and MMP2, but a decrease of eNOS activity, were observed in rat hippocampus and peripheral tissues during the PTZ induced seizures. LUT pretreatment reversed the iNOS and MMP2 activity to the control levels and significantly increased the eNOS activity (p<0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  LUT seems to have an effective role in reducing the seizure frequency and a protective role on peripheral organ injury in animal models of seizure. The protective effect of LUT in seizures and the seizure induced peripheral tissue damage warrant further investigations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, İstanbul Faculty of Medicine, İstanbul University, İstanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Hüsniye
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Birman
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, İstanbul University, İstanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Kadriye Akgün
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Dar
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, İstanbul University, İstanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ayşegül
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kapucu
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, İstanbul University, İstanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Samet
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Acar
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, İstanbul Faculty of Medicine, İstanbul University, İstanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Gülay
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Uzüm
keywords: Luteolin; NOS; metalloproteinases; pentylentetrazol; seizure