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Publication

Tanshinone IIA Exhibits Anticonvulsant Activity in Zebrafish and Mouse Seizure Models

Journal Contribution - Journal Article

Danshen or Chinese red sage (Salvia miltiorrhiza, Bunge) is used by traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) practitioners to treat neurological, cardiovascular, and cerebrovascular disorders and is included in some TCM formulations to control epileptic seizures. In this study, acetonic crude extracts of danshen inhibited pentylenetetrazol (PTZ)-induced seizure activity in zebrafish larvae. Subsequent zebrafish bioassay-guided fractionation of the extract resulted in the isolation of four major tanshinones, which suppressed PTZ-induced activity to varying degrees. One of the active tanshinones, tanshinone IIA, also reduced c-fos expression in the brains of PTZ-exposed zebrafish larvae. In rodent seizure models, tanshinone IIA showed anticonvulsive activity in the mouse 6-Hz psychomotor seizure test in a biphasic manner and modified seizure thresholds in a complex manner for the mouse i.v. PTZ seizure assay. Interestingly, tanshinone IIA is used as a prescription drug in China to address cerebral ischemia in patients. Here, we provide the first in vivo evidence demonstrating that tanshinone IIA has anticonvulsant properties as well.
Journal: ACS Chemical Neuroscience
ISSN: 1948-7193
Issue: 11
Volume: 4
Pages: 1479 - 1487
Publication year:2013
BOF-keylabel:yes
IOF-keylabel:yes
BOF-publication weight:2
CSS-citation score:2
Authors:International
Authors from:Higher Education