摘要Gastrodin,the major component isolated from the rhizome of the Chinese traditional medicinal herb Gastrodia elata ("Tianma"),has a long history in the treatment of epilepsy and other neurological disorders.However,the molecular mechanisms are not clear.Here,we found that gastrodin ameliorated pentylenetetrazole (PTZ)-induced epileptic seizures with improvement of the electroencephalographic pattern in mice.Further studies demonstrated that gastrodin decreased the levels of the pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin-lβ and tumor necrosis factor-α while increasing interleukin-10,an antiinflammatory cytokine in the brain.Furthermore,gastrodin attenuated the PTZ-induced microglial activation along with inhibition of mitogen-activated protein kinases,cAMP response element binding protein,and NF-κB.Our data suggest that gastrodin attenuates seizures by modulating the mitogen-activated protein kinase-associated inflammatory responses.