Riboflavin and Vitamin E Increase Brain Calcium and Antioxidants, and Microsomal Calcium-ATP-ase Values in Rat Headache Models Induced by Glyceryl Trinitrate

Abstract

The essential use of riboflavin is the prevention of migraine headaches, although its effect on migraines is considered to be associated with the increased mitochondrial energy metabolism. Oxidative stress is also important in migraine pathophysiology. Vitamin E is a strong antioxidant in nature and its analgesic effect is not completely clear in migraines. The current study aimed to investigate the effects of glyceryl trinitrate (GTN)-sourced exogen nitric oxide (NO), in particular, and also riboflavin and/or vitamin E on involved in the headache model induced via GTN-sourced exogen NO on oxidative stress, total brain calcium levels, and microsomal membrane Ca(2+)-ATPase levels. GTN infusion is a reliable method to provoke migraine-like headaches in experimental animals and humans. GTN resulted in a significant increase in brain cortex and microsomal lipid peroxidation levels although brain calcium, vitamin A, vitamin C, and vitamin E, and brain microsomal-reduced glutathione (GSH), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), and plasma-membrane Ca(2+)-ATPase values decreased through GTN. The lipid peroxidation, GSH, vitamin A, β-carotene, vitamin C, and vitamin E, and calcium concentrations, GSH-Px, and the Ca(2+)-ATPase activities were increased both by riboflavin and vitamin E treatments. Brain calcium and vitamin A concentrations increased through riboflavin only. In conclusion, riboflavin and vitamin E had a protective effect on the GTN-induced brain injury by inhibiting free radical production, regulation of calcium-dependent processes, and supporting the antioxidant redox system. However, the effects of vitamin E on the values seem more important than in riboflavin.

Migraine Triggers and Oxidative Stress: A Narrative Review and Synthesis

“…Moreover, this perspective on triggers links to the further simplification that a number of agents that reduce oxidative stress seem to function as migraine preventives, including vitamin E, ginkgo, melatonin, butterbur, feverfew, coenzyme Q10, and possibly alpha lipoic acid, and vitamin C with or without pine bark extract. The efficacy of riboflavin, too, might be indirectly due to reduced oxidative stress: Riboflavin is a coenzyme for glutathione reductase, an antioxidant enzyme, and in its reduced form can directly scavenge oxygen radicals …”

“…On a practical level, the idea that triggers function via oxidative stress raises the possibility that antioxidants, taken at the time of trigger exposure, could function as “acute preventives” or “preemptive therapy.” There is some preliminary evidence for this for ginkgo and the combination of ginger and feverfew . Indeed sumatriptan, in some respects a late‐stage preemptive, scavenges superoxide and hydroxyl radicals in vitro and may reduce levels of peroxynitrite in vivo .…”

Protective Effects of Riboflavin and Selenium on Brain Microsomal Ca2+-ATPase and Oxidative Damage Caused by Glyceryl Trinitrate in a Rat Headache Model

“…In the current study, the low levels of vitamin A, β-carotene, vitamin C, and vitamin E in the brains of rats administered with GTN only may facilitate oxidative damage in the GTN-induced brain injury of rats. Similarly, we recently observed modulator of riboflavin and vitamin E on brain antioxidant vitamin concentrations in GTN-induced brain injury in rats [42].…”

Abstracts and Citations

“…(1) I use a lot of search engines to help find my articles and I am amazed that you dug this one up – you just decided to search riboflavin and migraine or selenium and migraine for lack of other topics of interest? If the former then you also found this reference 1 and if the latter this Med. Hypothesis article.…”