The effect of boric acid on penicillin induced experimental epilepsy

Objective: In daily life, people are exposed to a boron compound, boric acid. This study was designed to investigate the effect of different low doses of boric acid on penicillin-induced epileptiform activity. The role of boric acid in the anticonvulsant effect of gabapentin was also researched. Method: Forty-eight Male Wistar rats were used in this study. After uretan anesthesia, rats were attached to a stereotaxic device. A bipolar electrode was fixed over the left somatomotor cortex for electrocorticography (ECoG) recordings. In the first set of experiments, 30 min after intracortical injection of penicillin (500 IU), four different doses of boric acid were received (5, 10, 20 and 40 mg/kg) intraperitoneally (i.p.). In the second set of experiments, boric acid (20 mg/kg), gabapentin (200 mg/kg) and boric acid (20 mg/kg) + gabapentin (200 mg/kg) combination were administered. Electrocorticography recordings were persisted for 120 minutes after the drug injections and spike frequencies and amplitudes were calculated. Results: Boric acid, at a dose of 5 mg/kg, did not significantly change the means of spike frequency when compared to the control group. At the doses of 10, 20 and 40 mg/kg, boric acid showed proconvulsant activity by increasing the mean spike frequency in the 50, 30 and 30 minutes, respectively. Gabapentin decreased the means of spike frequency in 30 min. Boric acid (20 mg/kg) inhibited the anticonvulsant effect of gabapentin. No significant difference detected between any groups in terms of spike amplitude. Conclusions: The results of the present study show that low doses of boric acid increase penicillin-induced seizures. We suggested that boric acid may show its proconvulsant effect probably via GABAergic pathway