Potent protection of ferulic acid against excitotoxic effects of maternal intragastric administration of monosodium glutamate at a late stage of pregnancy on developing mouse fetal brain

The present study was conducted to investigate a possible protection of ferulic acid against excitotoxic effects of maternal intragastric (ig) administration of monosodium glutamate (MSG) at a late stage of pregnancy on developing mouse fetal brain. [3H]-labeled glutamate was used as radiotracer to study the effect of ferulic acid on distribution of MSG in mouse fetal brain. MSG dissolved in distilled water (2.0 g/kg body weight, 640 kBq of [3H]glutamate/mouse, ig) or/and sodium ferulate (SF) (20, 40, 80 mg/kg body weight, ip), was given to pregnant mice at 17–19 days; the distribution of [3H] glutamate in the mouse fetal brains was measured at 30, 60, 90, 120 min after administration of MSG or/and SF. Maternal mice were given MSG (1.0, 2.0, 4.0 g/kg body weight, ig) or/and SF (20, 40, 80 mg/kg body weight, ip) simultaneously at 17–19 days of pregnancy, and then behavioral tests and histopathological observations were used to analyze glutamate-induced functional and morphological changes of the brains of their offspring, and Western blot analysis was performed for examining expressions of bcl-2 and caspase-3. The results showed that SF obviously inhibited the uptake of labeled glutamate in fetal brain. In addition, SF countered the effects of MSG on behavior, histopathology, genetic toxicity, and expression of apoptosis-related gene. The results suggest that ferulic acid is a novel competitive N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist and neuroprotector. In conclusion, maternal administration of ferulic acid has potent protective effects against glutamate-induced neurotoxicity in their filial mice.