A Study to Investigate Anticonvulsant Activity of Hydroalcoholic Extract of Brassica Alba Seeds in Experimental Animal Models

Epilepsy is a serious neurological disorder characterized by recurrent seizures, affecting individuals of any age. Medicinal plants are believed to be an important source of new chemical substances with potential therapeutic effects. Brassica alba seeds are used in traditional Indian and Chinese medicine for the treatment of epilepsy but this information lacks scientific evidence. Therefore, the present study evaluated the anticonvulsant activity of a hydroalcoholic extract of Brassica alba seeds in mice models. The antiepileptic activity was studied using Swiss albino mice using Maximal Electroshock (MES) and Pentylenetetrazole (PTZ) induced convulsion models. The animals were divided into 4 groups, N=6. Group I was treated with a vehicle (p.o.) as the control, Group II received standard drugs Phenytoin (25 mg/kg, i.p.) for the MES model and Diazepam (4 mg/kg, i.p.) for the PTZ model. Groups III and IV consisted of animals treated with 200 mg/kg (p.o.) and 400 mg/kg (p.o.) of the extract, respectively. The treatment groups received the extract consecutively for 14 days, after which convulsions were induced in all study groups. The hydroalcoholic extract of Brassica alba seeds, at both doses of 200 mg/kg and 400 mg/kg, significantly reduced the duration of hind limb tonic extension phase in the MES model. In the PTZ model, the extract demonstrated a dose-dependent antiepileptic effect, as evidenced by delayed seizure onset, shorter duration of convulsions, and higher survival rates in treated mice compared to controls. These findings strongly suggest that the hydroalcoholic extract of Brassica alba seeds has significant antiepileptic potential