AUTHOR=Chindo Ben A. , Howes Melanie-Jayne R. , Abuhamdah Sawsan , Yakubu Musa I. , Ayuba Godwin I. , Battison Alex , Chazot Paul L. 

TITLE=New Insights Into the Anticonvulsant Effects of Essential Oil From Melissa officinalis L. (Lemon Balm)

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Pharmacology

VOLUME=12

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/pharmacology/articles/10.3389/fphar.2021.760674

DOI=10.3389/fphar.2021.760674

ISSN=1663-9812

ABSTRACT=<p><italic>Melissa officinalis</italic> L. is used in traditional European and Iranian folk medicines to treat a plethora of neurological diseases including epilepsy. We utilized the <italic>in vitro</italic> and <italic>in vivo</italic> models of epilepsy to probe the anticonvulsant potentials of essential oil from <italic>M. officinalis</italic> (MO) to gain insight into the scientific basis for its applications in traditional medicine for the management of convulsive disorders. MO was evaluated for effects on maximal electroshock (MES) and pentylenetetrazole (PTZ) -induced seizures in mice, on 4–aminopyridine (4-AP)-brain slice model of epilepsy and sustained repetitive firing of current clamped neurons; and its ameliorative effects were examined on seizure severity, anxiety, depression, cognitive dysfunction, oxidative stress and neuronal cell loss in PTZ-kindled rats. MO reversibly blocked spontaneous ictal-like discharges in the 4-AP-brain slice model of epilepsy and secondary spikes from sustained repetitive firing, suggesting anticonvulsant effects and voltage-gated sodium channel blockade. MO protected mice from PTZ– and MES–induced seizures and mortality, and ameliorated seizure severity, fear-avoidance, depressive-like behavior, cognitive deficits, oxidative stress and neuronal cell loss in PTZ–kindled rats. The findings warrant further study for the potential use of MO and/or its constituent(s) as adjunctive therapy for epileptic patients.</p>