Mechanisms of natural products as potential antiepileptic drugs

The universal epileptogenic cascade remains unknown, and most modern treatments focus on the reduction of symptoms and the prevention of seizure recurrence. Experimental studies have demonstrated that herbal medicines may act as antiepileptogenic agents. In this study, the possibilities of plants with antiepileptic properties were reviewed and discussed on their structures and related mechanism of actions. This work constituted a literature review of medicinal plants showing antiepileptic properties by literature searching in Science Direct, PubMed and Wiley Online Library. The keywords of search included epilepsy, antiepileptogenesis, antiepilepsy, natural compounds, extract, herbal medicines and medicinal plants in epilepsy treatment. Only articles published in English were reviewed. Mechanism of action of the natural plants were described according to experimental studies. From the databases, we found 135 natural plants with antiepileptic properties. In this review, the highly studied natural plants were selected. These included Acorus calamus, Bacopa monnieri, Boerhaavia diffusa, Curcuma longa, Gastrodia elata, Ginseng, Uncaria rhynchophylla, Pinellia ternatae, Withania somnifera, Magnolia bark and Resveratrol-related products. From the evidences, natural products may potentially be developed as antiepileptic or antiepileptogenic agents. However, several issues in drug development should be considered such as safety, formulations, pharmacokinetic characteristics and possible interactions.