The Aerial Parts of Bupleurum Chinense DC. Aromatic Oil Attenuate Kainic Acid-Induced Epilepsy-Like Behavior and Its Potential Mechanisms

Abstract

The aerial parts of Bupleurum Chinense DC. aromatic oil (BAO) were a well-known Chinese herbal medicine plant extract used to treat epilepsy. This study aimed to explore the therapeutic effect of BAO on kainic acid- (KA-) induced epileptic rats and the possible mechanism of its antiepileptic effect. The composition and content of BAO were analyzed by GC-MS, and BAO was administered orally to alleviate the epileptic behavior induced by KA brain injection. The behavior of epileptic rats was determined by Racine grading criteria. And hematoxylin-eosin staining (HE), Nissl staining, immunohistochemistry, Elisa, Western blot, and other methods were used to study the antiepileptic mechanism of BAO, and the possible mechanism was verified by the epileptic cell model of hippocampal neurons induced by the low-Mg2+ extracellular fluid. BAO was mainly composed of terpenoids and aliphatic compounds. And BAO could improve KA-induced epilepsy-like behavior, neuroinflammation, and neurotransmitter abnormalities in the hippocampus. Furthermore, BAO could regulate the expression of GABA, NMDAR1, Notch1, and MAP2 to improve the symptoms of epilepsy. These results were also validated at the cellular level. These results indicated that BAO could alleviate the epilepsy-like behavior through the action of the Notch/NMDAR/GABA pathway.