Preclinical activity profile of α-lactoalbumin, a whey protein rich in tryptophan, in rodent models of seizures and epilepsy

R Citraro; F Scicchitano; S De Fazio; R Raggio; P Mainardi; E Perucca; G De Sarro; E Russo

Journal article

Preclinical activity profile of α-lactoalbumin, a whey protein rich in tryptophan, in rodent models of seizures and epilepsy

R Citraro, F Scicchitano, S De Fazio, R Raggio, P Mainardi, E Perucca, G De Sarro, E Russo

Epilepsy Research | ELSEVIER | Published : 2011

DOI: 10.1016/j.eplepsyres.2011.02.013

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate the potential anticonvulsant activity of α-lactalbumin (ALAC), a whey protein rich in tryptophan (TRP) relative to other large neutral aminoacids (LNAAs), in rodent models of seizures and epilepsy. Methods: The effects of ALAC administered per os were evaluated by standard protocols against audiogenic seizures in Genetic Epilepsy Prone Rats (GEPR-9 rats), maximal electroshock (MES)-induced seizures in rats, pilocarpine-induced seizures in mice, spontaneous chronic seizures in mice exposed to pilocarpine-induced status epilepticus (SE), and absence seizures in WAG/Rij rats. In some models, carbamazepine (CBZ) was included as an active control. Plasma TRP/LNAAs ratios were..

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University of Melbourne Researchers

Emilio Perucca Author

Grants

Funding Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research (MIUR, Cofin 2007, Rome) and the National Research Council (CNR, Rome) are gratefully acknowledged. Dr. Donato Cosco is kindly acknowledged for the technical preparation of carbamazepine solution.