Protective Effects of Thymoquinone Against Convulsant Activity Induced by Lithium-Pilocarpine in a model of Status Epilepticus

Inflammation plays a pivotal role in status epilepticus (SE). Thymoquinone (TQ) is a bioactive monomer extracted from black seed (Nigella sativa) oil, which has anti-inflammatory properties in the context of various diseases. This study explored the protective effects of TQ in SE and used a lithium-pilocarpine model of SE to investigate the underlying mechanism, which was related to inflammation mediated by the NF-κB signaling pathway. In the present study, latency to SE increased in the TQ-pretreated group compared with the SE group, and the incidence of SE was significantly reduced. The seizure severity score measured on the Racine scale was significantly decreased in the TQ group compared with the SE group. Moreover, the results of the behavioral tests suggested that TQ may also have a protective effect on learning and memory functions. Finally, we further investigated the protective mechanism of TQ. The results showed that TQ-pretreatment significantly downregulated the protein levels of COX-2 and TNF-α in the brain, in a manner mediated by the NF-κB signaling pathway. These findings demonstrate that TQ attenuates convulsant activity via an anti- inflammation signaling pathway in a model of SE.