title: Medicinal plants used in Iranian traditional medicine to treat epilepsy.
abstract: Antiepileptic drugs used to treat epilepsy can cause severe, life threatening side effects. In Iranian traditional medicine, herbal remedies have been used for centuries to treat seizures. In this study, the five most important herbals in Iranian traditional medicine, namely Canon, al-Hawi, al-Abniah 'an Haqaeq al Adwia, Tuhfat al-Mu'minin, and Makhzan ul-Adwia, were searched for the term "sar-e", which means epilepsy, to identify the herbs used for treatment in ancient times. We also searched scientific literature for pharmacological evidence of their effectiveness. Twenty-five plants were identified as herbal remedies to treat epilepsy. Pharmacological data related to the antiepileptic activity of eleven of these plants exists. A large number of these plants which have not been investigated pharmacologically for antiepileptic activity would be good candidates for study in exploring new herbal anticonvulsant remedies.
authors: Traditional Medicine and Material Medical Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; Department of Traditional Pharmacy, School of Traditional Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Electronic address: ssahranavard@itmrc.org.
authors: Shamim
authors: S
authors: Sahranavard
authors: Department of Traditional Pharmacy, School of Traditional Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors: Saeedeh
authors: S
authors: Ghafari
authors: Traditional Medicine and Material Medical Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; Department of Traditional Pharmacy, School of Traditional Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors: Mahmoud
authors: M
authors: Mosaddegh
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000927:Anticonvulsants / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran; D008519:Medicine, Traditional; D008517:Phytotherapy; D010946:Plants, Medicinal
chemical_list: D000927:Anticonvulsants
keywords: Epilepsy; Iranian traditional medicine; Medicinal plants