Phytotherapy for seizure: An overview of the most important indigenous Iranian medicinal plants with anticonvulsant properties

Abstract

The statistics show that more than fifty million people worldwide suffer from seizure and epilepsy, and most of them are resistant to antiepileptic drugs. The causes of seizure attacks are different, including various diseases of the nervous system, infections, tumors, brain trauma, congenital diseases, fever, toxicity and metabolic factors. Currently, drugs such as phenytoin, phenobarbital, carbamazepine, valproic acid and diazepam are used to treat epileptic seizures, which in turn lead to side effects. Studies have shown that the use of natural and herbal antiseptic agents has beneficial and protective effects. In this review article, the most important indigenous Iranian medicinal plants used to treat seizures are reported. Information to conduct this review article has been obtained using the search terms seizure, neurological lesion, phytotherapy, Iran, medicinal plants, extracts and essential oils to retrieve articles indexed in databases such as Scopus, Scientific Information Database, Magiran, Google Scholar and other Persian databases. The relevant articles were further reviewed for medicinal plants with anticonvulsant properties. Based on the results, medicinal plants such as Peganum harmala, Lavandula officinalis, Matricaria chamomilla, Tanacetum sonbolii, Launaea acanthodes, Ocimum basilicum, Salvia sahendica, Ruta graveolens, Elaeagnus angustifolia, Ziziphora tenuior, Heracleum persicum and Scrophularia striata are among the most important medicinal plants in Iran with anticonvulsant effect.