ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Ketogenic diets (KD) have been used globally in epilepsy management. Similarly, supplementation of diets with magnesium has been associated with disease prevention and improvement. However, the effect of magnesium (Mg) supplementation in conjunction with KD on epilepsy has not yet been investigated. We hypothesized that magnesium supplementation in KD would improve the effectiveness of the diet. METHODS: Forty-eight male Wistar rats were used for the study. The animals were fed on 4 diet types: I-normal rat chow (ND), II-ND with Mg supplement (ND+Mg), III-medium chain ketogenic diet (KD) and IV-KD with Mg supplement (KD+Mg). Animals in each group were divided into 3: experimental, control and observatory. The experimental drug was intraperitoneal Pentylenetetrazole (PTZ) administered at 25 mg/kg. The rats were observed for 2 hours after the drug administration and induced seizures noted. The levels of serum electrolytes and plasma lipid levels were determined using standard methods. RESULTS: The seizure latency was significantly prolonged 60.8±0.5mins in group III compared with 8.7±2.1mins in group I (p<0.05). The seizure duration was 42.5±2.5mins in group III and 142.3±4.7 in group I (p<0.05). With Mg supplementation, seizure latency was 62.6±1.5mins in group IV and 7.9±0.7mins in group I (p<0.05). The seizure duration was 45.5±4.5min in group IV and 139.3±3.9mins in group II (p< 0.05). The KD-fed rats showed a tendency to develop dyslipidemia as evidenced by elevated Total Cholesterol /HDL and LDL/HDL (2.32±0.32 and 1.19±0.08) in group III, which was reversed in the KD+Mg fed group IV (1.96±0.32 and 1.08±0.09) with p<0.05. CONCLUSION: Mg supplementation of KD did not affect its antiseizure property and does not confer antiseizure effect on ND. Mg supplement showed a tendency to reduce derangement in lipid metabolism associated with KD.
