COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW ON HERBAL MEDICINES AS ALTERNATIVE THERAPEUTIC AGENTS FOR EPILEPSY
Yash Pareek, Dr. Satkar Prasad
ABSTRACT
Epilepsy is one of the most prevalent chronic neurological disorders and remains a major global health concern despite significant advances in pharmacotherapy. Although numerous antiseizure medications (ASMs) are available, a considerable proportion of patients continue to experience uncontrolled seizures, adverse drug reactions, and clinically significant drug interactions. These limitations have stimulated growing interest in herbal medicines as complementary and alternative therapeutic options. Medicinal plants contain diverse bioactive phytoconstituents, including flavonoids, alkaloids, phenolic compounds, terpenoids, glycosides, and saponins, which exhibit antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective, and anticonvulsant activities. This review provides a comprehensive overview of epilepsy, currently available antiseizure medications, their mechanisms of action, pharmacokinetic interactions, and associated limitations. It also summarizes the scientific evidence supporting the anticonvulsant potential of medicinal plants traditionally used in epilepsy, including Zizyphus jujuba, Taxus wallichiana, Ganoderma lucidum, Salvia miltiorrhiza, Uncaria rhynchophylla, Cannabis sativa, Panax ginseng, Pimpinella anisum, Passiflora incarnata, Scutellaria species, Viscum album, and Zingiber officinale. Experimental studies suggest that these plants exert anticonvulsant effects through multiple mechanisms, including enhancement of GABAergic neurotransmission, inhibition of glutamatergic excitotoxicity, attenuation of oxidative stress and neuroinflammation, modulation of ion channels, and preservation of neuronal integrity. Despite encouraging preclinical findings, further standardization of herbal formulations, detailed pharmacological investigations, safety assessments, and well-designed clinical trials are necessary before their widespread clinical application. The integration of evidence-based herbal medicines with conventional epilepsy management may contribute to the development of safer and more effective therapeutic strategies for seizure control.
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