Anticonvulsant and Antidepressant Effects of Daniellia oliveri (Rolfe) Hutch and Dalz Aqueous Extract in Pilocarpine Model of Temporal Lobe Epilepsy in Mice

In temporal lobe epilepsy, an average of 30% suffer from depression.The objective of this study is to evaluate the anticonvulsant and antidepressant effects of Daniellia oliveri in pilocarpine model of temporal lobe epilepsy. the experiment lasted 7 days.Muss musculus Swiss mice were divided into 7 groups of 6 animals. They were treated with distilled water (10 mL/kg, p.o.) for the negative control group; Daniellia oliveri aqueous extract (21.21, 53.03, 106.06, and 221.12, mg/kg, per os) for the test groups; sodium valproate (300 mg/kg, intraperitoneally) for the positive control group; and distilled water (10 mL/kg; per os) for the sham group; respectively. One hour after the administration of different treatments to mice, status epilepticus was induced by injection of a single dose of pilocarpine (360 mg/kg). During the second day of experiment, mice were injected with picrotoxin 1 mg/kg to induced convulsions one hour after the treatment of mice. The antidepressant effect of the plant extract was assessed on the seventh day by using the forced swim test, followed by the open field test. GABA and GABA-transaminase activity were estimated in the hippocampus on mice. Daniellia oliveri (106.06, and 221.12, mg/kg) significantly increased the latency time to status epilepticus and the seizures, decreased the number and duration of seizures compared to negative control groups of mice. During forced swimming, Daniellia oliveri significantly increased the duration of climbing, the duration of swimming and decreased the duration of immobility. In addition, it restored behavioural parameters in the open field test. It also increased in GABA and a significant decreased in GABA-transaminase activity. These results suggest that Daniellia oliveri extract has anticonvulsant and antidepressant effects. These mechanisms could be done by the improvement of GABAergique axis, justifying its use by the traditional healers as an alternative therapy for the management of epilepsy and depression.