This effect may be due to a depletion of enzymes, as previously described by Obay et al. (2008) and Silva et al. (2009), in brain tissues treated with PTZ. Organic grape juice attenuates this decrease in the activities of SOD and CAT, as previously shown for erdosteine (Ilhan et al., 2005), ghrelin (Obay et al., 2008) and isopulegol (Silva

et al., 2009) treatments in rats. In contrast, conventional juice was not able to block the modulation of enzymes induced by PTZ. While other studies are needed, it is possible that this effect could be due the reduced polyphenol (Table 2) and ascorbic acid (Table 1) content buy Bioactive Compound Library of the conventional grape juice. Organic juice also showed higher concentrations of catechin, cyanidin, epicatechin, malvidin diglycoside, procyanidin B1 and resveratrol compared to conventional juice (Table 2). Phenolic compounds are secondary metabolites that are produced and accumulated in plant tissues. Organic farming is currently practiced worldwide and does not use pesticides Selleck ISRIB or synthetic fertilizers. As pesticides are not used, plants are more susceptible to the actions of phytopathogens, and this susceptibility causes the plant to produce higher amounts of polyphenols

as a means of defending itself (Dani et al., 2007 and Soleas et al., 1997). It has been demonstrated that seizures induced by PTZ produce chances in nitric oxide metabolism (Naziroglu et al., 2009). The generation of nitric oxide results in lipid peroxidation, which may also induce epileptic activity by the direct inactivation of glutamine synthase, thereby permitting an abnormal buildup of the major excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate (Dillioglugil et al., 2010, Militão et al., 2010 and Tomé et al., 2010). In all tissues,

both organic and conventional grape juices were able to attenuate the increase in nitric oxide content induced by PTZ. Fossariinae Similar results were observed for rats treated with lipoic acid (Militão et al., 2010) and α-tocopherol (Tomé et al., 2010) in a pilocarpine model of epilepsy. Nitric oxide could react with superoxide, generating the potent tissue-damaging moiety peroxynitrite, which has a high affinity for sulfhydryl groups and thus inactivates several key sulfhydryl-bearing enzymes (Katzung, 2004). This effect is probably the reason that sulfhydryl proteins are reduced in the PTZ group. In contrast, in all tissues assayed, the treatment with either organic or conventional grape juice protected sulfhydryl groups from the oxidation induced by PTZ (Table 3, Table 4 and Table 5). We did not observe differences in the results obtained from the different tissues assayed. The hippocampus is part of the limbic system, and it is important for learning and memory (Hansen and Koeppen, 2002). In addition, the hippocampus is a structure that is involved in the expression and propagation of seizures (Bear and Lothman, 1993).