Seizure

Volume 23, Issue 5, May 2014, Pages 328–332

Review

Medicinal plants used in Iranian traditional medicine to treat epilepsy

• Shamim Sahranavard^{a, b, ,} ,
• Saeedeh Ghafari^b,
• Mahmoud Mosaddegh^{a, b}

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Abstract

Antiepileptic drugs used to treat epilepsy can cause severe, life threatening side effects. In Iranian traditional medicine, herbal remedies have been used for centuries to treat seizures. In this study, the five most important herbals in Iranian traditional medicine, namely Canon, al-Hawi, al-Abniah ‘an Haqaeq al Adwia, Tuhfat al-Mu’minin, and Makhzan ul-Adwia, were searched for the term “sar-e”, which means epilepsy, to identify the herbs used for treatment in ancient times. We also searched scientific literature for pharmacological evidence of their effectiveness.

Twenty-five plants were identified as herbal remedies to treat epilepsy. Pharmacological data related to the antiepileptic activity of eleven of these plants exists. A large number of these plants which have not been investigated pharmacologically for antiepileptic activity would be good candidates for study in exploring new herbal anticonvulsant remedies.

Keywords

• Iranian traditional medicine;
• Epilepsy;
• Medicinal plants

Corresponding author at: Traditional Medicine and Materia Medica Research Center (TMRC), Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, P.O. Box 1516745811, Tehran, Iran. Tel.: +98 88773525; fax: +98 88776168.

Copyright © 2014 British Epilepsy Association. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.