Abnormal reorganization of the dentate gyrus and neuroinflammation in the hippocampus represent characteristic phenotypes of patients suffering from temporal lobe epilepsy. Hesperetin, a flavanone abundant in citrus fruit, is known to have protective effects by preventing inflammation and oxidative stress in neuronal cultures and in the adult murine brain. However, the protective effects of hesperetin against epileptic seizures in vivo remain unclear, despite one study reporting anticonvulsant effects in vitro. In this study, we report that oral administration of hesperetin not only delays the onset of seizures triggered by kainic acid (KA) but also contributes to the attenuation of granule cell dispersion in the KA-treated hippocampus. Moreover, we observed that hesperetin administration inhibited the expression of pro-inflammatory molecules produced by activated microglia in the hippocampus. Thus, administration of hesperetin might be beneficial for preventing epileptic seizures.
Keywords: granule cell dispersion; hesperetin; neuroinflammation; temporal lobe epilepsy.