Quercetin is one of the most widely occurring
flavonoid which is also often present in plants as glycosidic form -
rutin. These compounds are ingredients of plant diet and are also present in numerous pharmaceutical preparations and diet supplements which are taken by patients suffering from
epilepsy and treating with
antiepileptic drugs (AEDs). Influence of these compounds on central nervous system-related effects was proved both in experimental and clinical studies. Their influence on anxiety, depression, memory processes and
convulsant activity was reported. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of
quercetin and
rutin in some models of
seizures, i.e., in the model of psychomotor
seizures induced by 6Hz stimulation, in the maximal electroshock seizure threshold and intravenous
pentylenetetrazole tests in mice. We also examined a possible mechanism of
anticonvulsant activity of
quercetin and its influence on action of two AEDs, i.e.,
valproic acid and
levetiracetam, in the 6Hz seizure test. Our results revealed only a weak
anticonvulsant potential of the studied
flavonoids because they showed
anticonvulsant action at doses from 10 to 200mg/kg only in the 6Hz test and did not change seizure thresholds in the remaining tests. Moreover,
anticonvulsant action of the studied
flavonoids was short-term, noted only at pretreatment time ranging between 30 and 60min. The highest
anticonvulsant activity of
quercetin was correlated with its high plasma and brain concentration, which was revealed in a pharmacokinetic study. We did not note changes in the
anticonvulsant action of the used AEDs combined with
quercetin in the model of psychomotor
seizures in mice. Neither
quercetin and
rutin nor combinations of
quercetin with the studied AEDs produced any significant impairments of motor coordination (assessed in the chimney test), muscular strength (investigated in the grip-strength test) and long-term memory (evaluated in the passive avoidance test) in mice. The results of the present study suggest that
quercetin and
rutin have only weak and short-term
anticonvulsant potential. These
flavonoids seem to be safe for patients with
epilepsy because they neither changed activity of the studied AEDs nor produced any adverse effects.