Hesperetin and its ability to prevent epileptic seizures

Researchers from Kyungpook National University in South Korea investigated the protective effects of hesperetin against epileptic seizures in vivo. Their findings were published in the Journal of Medicinal Food.

• Observable characteristics of people suffering from temporal lobe epilepsy include the abnormal reorganization of the dentate gyrus and the inflammation of neurons in the hippocampus.
• Hesperetin is a flavanone present in citrus fruits.
• It is known to have protective properties due to its ability to prevent inflammation and oxidative stress in neuronal cultures and in the brain of adult mice.
• The effects of hesperetin against epileptic seizures, however, is unclear. The researchers noted only one study that reported the anticonvulsant effects of hesperetin in vitro.
• In this study, the researchers found that oral administration of hesperetin delays the onset of seizures triggered by kainic acid.
• They also reported that hesperetin contributes to the attenuation of granule cell dispersion in a kainic acid-treated hippocampus.
• In addition, they observed that hesperetin inhibited the expression of pro-inflammatory molecules, which is caused by the activation of microglia in the hippocampus.

Based on these results, the researchers concluded that hesperetin can be used in therapies designed to prevent hippocampal-onset epilepsy.

Learn more about hesperetin and its other health benefits at Phytonutrients.news.

Journal Reference:

Kwon JY, Jung UJ, Kim DW, Kim S, Moon GJ, Hong J, Jeon M-T, Shin M, Chang JH, Kim SR. BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF HESPERETIN IN A MOUSE MODEL OF TEMPORAL LOBE EPILEPSY. Journal of Medicinal Food. 2018;21(12):1306–1309. DOI: 10.1089/jmf.2018.4183