Antioxidant action of Guilingji in the brain of rats with FeCl₃-induced epilepsy

The effects of Guilingji, an antiaging prescription comprised of traditional Chinese medicinal herbs and animal components, on the brain level of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity in the brain of rats with FeCl₃-induced epilepsy were examined with fluorophotometry and electron spin resonance (ESR) spectrometry, respectively. The results showed that pretreatment of rats with Guilingji decreased the levels of TBARS in the left cortex, midbrain, and olfactory lobe, and increased the SOD activity in the midbrain and hypothalamus. These results are the first to demonstrate that Guilingji may possess an antiepileptic effect further to its proposed antiaging action, because decreasing the TBARS elevation and increasing the SOD attenuation in the brain are suggested to be important characteristics of antiepileptic agents. These results suggest that both the proposed antiaging and antiepileptic effects of Guilingji may operate through the mechanism of antioxidation.