A Pharmacological Perspective on Plant-derived Bioactive Molecules for Epilepsy

Epilepsy is a related chronic neurological condition of a predisposition for recurrent epileptic seizures, with various manifestations and causes. Although there are antiepileptic drugs, complementary natural therapies are widely used. The purpose of this systematic review was to analyze the antiepileptic/anticonvulsant pharmacological properties of plant-food derived bioactive molecules. In this regard, a systematic review of the PubMed database was made based on the inclusion criteria. Natural compounds/herbs with scientifically proven antiepileptic properties were selected. Experimental pharmacological studies in vitro and in vivo have shown that flavonoids, alkaloids and terpenoids may have anticonvulsant mechanisms similar to the new generation antiepileptic drugs. The relationships of structure-anticonvulsant effect, pharmacological models, seizure-inducing factors and response, effective dose were also analyzed and discussed. The results of in vitro and in vivo pharmacological studies analyzed in this systematic review support the clinical importance of plant-food-derived bioactive molecules for the complementary treatment of epilepsy. Thus, are opened new perspectives to develop new natural anticonvulsant drugs.