Ethnopharmacological Approaches to Epilepsy: Mechanisms and Preclinical Evaluation of Traditional Medicinal Plants

The common neurological condition known as epilepsy is typified by frequent seizures. Despite their effectiveness, traditional antiepileptic medications frequently have negative side effects and resistance problems. Epilepsy affects fifty million individuals globally, accounting for around one-third cases still have uncontrollable seizures and bad drug responses even though there are several antiepileptic medications (AEDs) available. Due to this restriction, there is now more interest in alternative and traditional medicine, especially plant-based treatments, many of which have been practiced for millennia in many different cultures. Using a variety of mechanisms, including GABA modulation, NMDA receptor antagonism, and antioxidant activity, medicinal plants have become popular alternative medicines with anticonvulsant effects. A comprehensive overview of medicinal plants historically utilized for the treatment of epilepsy is what this review attempts to provide, including ethnobotanical knowledge, phytochemical ingredients, pharmacological research, and suggested mechanisms of action. In preclinical and restricted clinical contexts, plants have shown encouraging anticonvulsant and neuroprotective properties.