6-Gingerol, a Major Constituent of <i>Zingiber officinale</i> Rhizoma, Exerts Anticonvulsant Activity in the Pentylenetetrazole-Induced Seizure Model in Larval Zebrafish

oleh: Kinga Gawel, Wirginia Kukula-Koch, Nancy Saana Banono, Dorota Nieoczym, Katarzyna M. Targowska-Duda, Lidia Czernicka, Jolanta Parada-Turska, Camila V. Esguerra

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2021-07-01

Deskripsi

<i>Zingiber officinale</i> is one of the most frequently used medicinal herbs in Asia. Using rodent seizure models, it was previously shown that <i>Zingiber officinale</i> hydroethanolic extract exerts antiseizure activity, but the active constituents responsible for this effect have not been determined. In this paper, we demonstrated that <i>Zingiber officinale</i> methanolic extract exerts anticonvulsant activity in the pentylenetetrazole (PTZ)-induced hyperlocomotion assay in larval zebrafish. Next, we isolated 6-gingerol (6-GIN)—a major constituent of <i>Zingiber officinale rhizoma</i>. We observed that 6-GIN exerted potent dose-dependent anticonvulsant activity in the PTZ-induced hyperlocomotion seizure assay in zebrafish, which was confirmed electroencephalographically. To obtain further insight into the molecular mechanisms of 6-GIN antiseizure activity, we assessed the concentration of two neurotransmitters in zebrafish, i.e., inhibitory γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and excitatory glutamic acid (GLU), and their ratio after exposure to acute PTZ dose. Here, 6-GIN decreased GLU level and reduced the GLU/GABA ratio in PTZ-treated fish compared with only PTZ-bathed fish. This activity was associated with the decrease in <i>grin2b</i>, but not <i>gabra1a</i>, <i>grin1a</i>, <i>gria1a</i>, <i>gria2a</i>, and <i>gria3b</i> expression in PTZ-treated fish. Molecular docking to the human NR2B-containing N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor suggests that 6-GIN might act as an inhibitor and interact with the amino terminal domain, the glutamate-binding site, as well as within the ion channel of the NR2B-containing NMDA receptor. In summary, our study reveals, for the first time, the anticonvulsant activity of 6-GIN. We suggest that this effect might at least be partially mediated by restoring the balance between GABA and GLU in the epileptic brain; however, more studies are needed to prove our hypothesis.