Traditional Ethnobotanical Treatments in Bolivia

Epilepsy is a chronic and disabling disorder of the central nervous system (CNS) that affects approximately 70 million people worldwide, with the majority residing in low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs) [1]. In LMICs, the epilepsy treatment gap (TG) – defined as the proportion of people with epilepsy who require but do not receive treatment – often exceeds 75%. This gap is attributed to multiple factors, including under-resourced healthcare systems, inadequate access to trained medical professionals, limited availability and affordability of antiseizure medications, transportation barriers, and pervasive sociocultural stigmas [2,3]. Antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) are the primary therapeutic options for managing epilepsy in high-income countries (HICs), but in many LMICs, traditional remedies continue to play a significant role in many communities due to their relative affordability, distrust of biomedical interventions, and cultural preferences for traditional healing practices [4].