Psychotropic properties of a potential anticonvulsant of 5-[(Z)-(4-nitrobenzylidene)]-2- (thiazol-2-ylimino)-4-thiazolidinone

Aim. To study the range of psychotropic properties of a new original compound of 5-[(Z)-(4-nitrobenzylidene)]-2-(thiazol-2-ylimino)-4 thiazolidinone with the anticonvulsant activity. Materials and methods. Adult nonlinear white mice of both sexes weighing 20-27 g were used in the experiments. The locomotor, exploratory, emotional activities were studied in the open field test. The elevated plus maze was used to study anxiety. The effect of the compound on depressive behavior was studied by the tail suspension test. The passive avoidance test was used to study memory. The influence of the compound on the skeletal muscle tone and coordination was studied in the rotarod test. Actoprotective properties were studied in a swimming test with a load of 10 % by weight of the animal. Results and discussion. In the previous studies, 5-[(Z)-(4-nitrobenzylidene)]-2-(thiazol-2-ylimino)-4-thiazolidinone showed a pronounced anticonvulsant effect in seizure models with different pathogenesis. In this study the related psychotropic effects of the test compound were studied. It was found that in intact mice 5-[(Z)-(4-nitrobenzylidene)]-2-(thiazol-2-ylimino)-4-thiazolidinone in the dose of 100 mg/kg by intragastrical administration did not affect the locomotor, exploratory, emotional activity and its vegetative support, anxiety, depressive activity (in contrast to the reference drug – a classic anticonvulsant sodium valproate, which showed depressive properties), and memory. The test compound did not have a negative effect on the skeletal muscle tone and coordination, but statistically significantly increased the physical endurance of animals, being only slightly inferior to the classic CNS stimulant caffeine. Conclusions. Thus, 5-[(Z)-(4-nitrobenzylidene)]-2-(thiazol-2-ylimino)-4-thiazolidinone in the dose of 100 mg/kg can be considered as a potential anticonvulsant without related psychotropic effects and with actoprotective properties.