Effects of Luteolin on Liver, Kidney and Brain in Pentylentetrazol-Induced Seizures: Involvement of Metalloproteinases and NOS Activities

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). 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. Seizure frequen cy after PTZ administration was significantly decreased in LUT pretreated rats (p