Review on phytotherapy in epilepsy

The epilepsies are among the most common of neurological disorders, prevalence is about 1%1; based on this figure, there are 500 000 people in the UK who suffer from epilepsy. Approximately 70% of patients with epilepsy are well controlled by monotherapy with currently available antiepileptic drugs2. Another 5– 10% of patients are stabilized by the addition of another antiepileptic drug but there remains over 20% of patients whose seizures are not controlled2. By estimation, in the UK alone, 100 000 patients with epilepsy require more effective antiepileptic drug treatments. The last 10 years have been an exciting time for both patients with epilepsy and the health profession. Five new antiepileptic drugs, gabapentin, lamotrigine, tiagabine, topiramate and vigabatrin, have been marketed in the UK and other countries. They have all been shown to be effective in short-term add-on clinical trials in patients with uncontrolled epilepsy. However, in long-term study, Wong showed that less than a quarter of patients with severe epilepsy will still be taking the new antiepileptic drugs (gabapentin, lamotrigine and vigabatrin) after six years, few patients will be seizure free3. He concluded that the task to improve the prognosis of severe epilepsy has not been accomplished. Therefore, phytomedicines can potentially play an important role in the development of new antiepileptic drugs. Many plants were known for their anticonvulsant activity. Various phytochemical and pharmacological studies have been carried out on these anticonvulsant plants. In fact, a review article4 was previously published with regards to plants with anticonvulsant activity. Thus, the aim of this article is to give an up-to-date literature review on plants/natural products which have been used traditionally for the treatment of epilepsy or those which have been shown to possess anticonvulsant activity.