The Effects of Herbal Medicine on Epilepsy

Epilepsy is the fourth most common neurological disorder and affects people of all ages. In past centuries before modern seizure medicines were developed, people with epilepsy and their doctors looked for a remedy in various herbs and combinations of herbs and now People with epilepsy and their doctors are expressing growing interest in alternative therapies too. Although antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) help most peoplecontrol their symptoms, these do not work for everyone. Furthermore, some people are concerned about the longterm safety of these drugs. Traditional herbal therapy plays an important role in the treatment of epilepsy. Though herbal therapy is mostly used in antiepileptictreatment, there is a lack of robust evidence for efficacy and toxicity of most herbs. Besides, the herbal medicine should be subject to evidence-based research. In this review article, our purpose was to introduce the effects of herbal medicine on epilepsy. However, hundreds of herbal medicines have been investigated in the available studies. Some commonly used herbal medicines for epilepsy are Zizyphus jujube, Taxus wallichiana Zucc (Himalayan Yew), Ganoderma lucidum, Salvia miltiorrhiza (Danshen or Chinese red sage), Uncariarhynchophylla and etc. The overwhelming majority of these article are based on animal experiments. The lack of clinical data places constraints on the clinical suggestion of herbal medicine. Many reports on the effectiveness of complementary treatments for epilepsycome from personal experience, and from studies that are not considered conclusive. Most importantly, people should always talk to their doctor before trying natural treatments to help ease their symptoms.