HERBAL REMEDIES USED IN THE TREATMENT OF EPILEPSY

ABOUT AUTHORS:
Sachchidanand Pathak*, L Singh, T Singh, S K Sharma
Sunder Deep Pharmacy College,
Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, India
sachchidanand.pathak904@gmail.com

ABSTRACT- 
This article has been made to review of following plants used for the antiepileptic activity. The plant sources of India are likely to provide effective antiepileptic agents. Herbs have a vital role in the prevention and treatment of convulsion. The phytochemical exploration of these herbs has contributed to some extent in this race for the discovery of new antiepileptic drugs (AED). In recent years owing to the fear of side effects people prefer more and more use of natural plant products for convulsions. This review also helps to summarize the diverse methodologies and ways to evaluate the potential natural compounds having antiepileptic activity.

Convulsion is the second most common neurologic disorder after stroke. Approximately 1% of the world’s population has convulsion, it is a condition where the patient suffers from recurrent seizures. Control to seizures numerous conventional drugs came into existence. Most of the epileptic patients need polytherapy of conventional anticonvulsants and still not 100% cured.

The major drawback due to these agents is their chronic side effects and drug interactions which restrict its use. On the other hand nature has provided us plants to be used as natural remedy for diseases with least side effects and insignificant drug interactions. This has motivated the researchers towards herbal remedy for anticonvulsant activity. In this review, herbal drugs have been discussed with more emphasis on the research advancements of traditional or herbal anticonvulsants.

REFERENCE ID: PHARMATUTOR-ART-1879

INTRODUCTION- 
The herbal medicines principles are relatively simple, although they are quite distinct from conventional medicine. India is a rich source of medicinal plants and a number of plant extracts are used against diseases in various systems of medicine such as Ayurveda, Unani and Siddha. Only a few of them have been scientifically explored.^[1] Searching the plant kingdom for a treatment or cure for convulsions^[2] or seizures is not an unreasonable approach to the problem particularly, when one considers that no pharmacological prototype has been found outside either the plant or animal kingdom. The history of herbal treatments for convulsion is coincidental with the history of medicine as well as history of civilization itself.^[3]

The term epilepsy is collectively designated for a group of chronic central nervous system (CNS) disorder (neurological disorder) characterized by spontaneous occurrence of seizures generally associated with the loss of consciousness and body movements (convulsion)^[4], there annual incidence of 50/100,000 per year.^[5] Epilepsy is defined as recurrent seizures that are not the immediate result of an acute cerebral insult.^[6]

ANTIEPILEPTIC PLANTS-
Traditional herbs are very useful and indispensable in the struggle for seizure management and future AED development. Therefore alternative therapy including herbal drugs and complementary medicine is becoming increasing popular.^[7]

There are a new plant which are Datura metel Linn(Solanaceae) which are used in traditional medicine for several years to treat epilepsy and other problems. Medicinal plants have contributed a rich health to human beings. Plant extracts and their bioactive compounds present in them which are responsible for antiepileptic activity have to be screened for their valuable information. Rather than using a whole plant, pharmacologists identify, isolate, extract, and synthesize individual components, thus capturing the active properties or constituents. Herbal medicines are very cheap in comparison to the conventional form of medication. It’s something which every pocket can afford, unlike other forms of medication which can create a big hole in your wallet. One of the greatest benefits associated with herbal medicine is the non existence of side effects. Although herbal medicines has the potential to cure many ailments, the curing period is usually longer in comparison to conventional medication.^[8]

In Africa and in Cameroon particularly, phytotherapy in traditional medicine still plays an important role in the management of diseases, mainly among populations with very low income (Geoffrey & Kirby, 1996) and phytotherapy relies on the use of a wide variety of plant species. These plants shows antiepileptic activity, Ricinus communis Linn (Euphorbiaceae), Citrus sinenis (Linn), Osbeck (Rutaceae) and several other plants which are described below.^[9]

The alternative drug therapy for the management of this disease can be by the use of medicinal plants and their active principles. In the present study, plants from India with a traditional claim of anti epileptic activity and neuroprotective properties has been selected and a Datura metel extract is prepared in different medium.^[10]

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Traditional medicinal practices have remained as a component of health care system of many societies in spite of the availability of well-established alternatives (Oyeka 1981; Ndoye 2005). But focus has shifted to the use of herbal remedies in the management of epileptic seizures, probably because these measures fit into the cultures of people and are not usually as expensive and do not possess many side effects, contraindications and possible interactions with drugs used simultaneously. The alternative drug therapy for the management of this disease can be by the use of medicinal plants and their active principles.^[7] The medicinal plants for the study are selecting in such a way that their availability is maximized in many parts of the world.^[10]

GENERAL MODELS USED IN EPILEPSY
The search for therapeutic approaches to epilepsy has been based on animal seizure’s models.^[11]

IN VIVO MODELS--
1.      Maximum electroshock in mice.
2.      PTZ induced convulsion in mice and rat.
3.      Strychnine induced convulsion in mice.
4.      Picrotoxin induced convulsion in mice.
5.      Isoniazid induced convulsion in mice.
6.      Bicuculline induced convulsion in rat.
7.      Pilocarpine induced convulsion in rat.

IN VITRO MODELS--
1.      ³H GABA receptor binding.
2.      GABA_A receptor binding.
3.      GABA_B receptor binding.
4.      ³H GABA uptake in rat cerebral cortex syneptosomes.
5.      GABA uptake and release in rat hippocampal slices.

CONCLUSION
This study is undertaken to evaluate the anticonvulsant and sedative properties of few medicinal plants used in the treatment of epilepsy in different parts of the world. The present study revealed anticonvulsant potential of some medicinal plants. These remedies can make anticonvulsant treatment more rationale and patient friendly.

In conclusion, the medicinally important plant species, listed in the present paper appear to be promissory sources of anticonvulsant agents. The future outlook for the development of new antiepileptic drugs derived from these medicinal plants is therefore positive and this review can help others to explore herbs to further extent and its use in various other disease and toxicity studies along with clinical trials.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I extend my sincere thanks to libraries, NISCARE, NML and BHU in collecting the data and I am thankful to my teachers for my guidance.

ABBREVIATIONS
AED - Antiepileptic Drugs, CNS - Central Nervous System, PTZ - Pentylenetetrazole, GABA- Gamma aminobutyric acid, NISCARE - National Institute of  Science Communication And Information Resources, NML - National Medical Library.

REFERENCES
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3.Chauhan K. Ashok , A review of medicinal plants showing anticonvulsant activity, chemical laboratories, University of Rajasthan, Jaipur.
4.Eva M. Jimenez-Mateos, David C. Henshall, Review Article Seizure preconditioning and epileptic tolerance: models and mechanisms Department of Physiology & Medical Physics, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin, Ireland Received October 15, 2009.
5.Paul A. Modica, Rene Tempelhoff, and Paul F. White, Review Article Pro- and Anticonvulsant Effects of Anesthetics.
6.Marjan nassiri- Asi, Farzaneh Zamansoltani, Antiepileptic effect of quinine in the pentylenetetrazole model of seizure, Department of pharmacology, School of medicine, Qazvine University of Medical Sciences, Iran.
7.Malvi Reetesh k. Bibonoya papaya, medicinal plant used in the treatment of epilepsy, Radharaman College of Pharmacy, Bhopal, M.P., India.
8.Lian Xiao-Yuan, Zhang Zhizhen, Stringer Janet L., “Anticonvulsant and Neuroprotective effect of ginsenosoids in rats”, Epilepsy research, 70,2006, 244-256.
9.Hasan Saba, Dwivedi Vibhash and Mishra Manisha, Anti epileptic activity of some medicinal plants, Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University, Viraj Khand-5, Gomti Nagar, Lucknow, U.P., India 226010.
10.Balamurugan G., Muralidharan P. and Selvarajan S, Anti Epileptic Activity of Poly Herbal Extract from Indian Medicinal Plants, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, C.L. Baid Metha College of Pharmacy, Old Mahabalipuram Road, Jyothi Nagar, Thoraipakkam, Chennai-600 097, Tamil Nadu, India.
11.Vogel H.gerhard, drug discovery and evaluation pharmacological assay, second edition, springer verlag Berlin, Heidelberg, 2002, 459-4588.

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