Plants with anticonvulsant properties: a review

Abstract

RESUMO: "Uma revisão de plantas com propriedades anticonvulsivantes". Cerca de um terço dos pacientes epilépticos não conseguem ter um tratamento adequado com as drogas anticonvulsivantes atuais. Nesse sentido, as plantas medicinais surgem como uma fonte promissora de novas moléculas químicas com propriedades biológicas apreciáveis. Muitas plantas ou produtos de origem naturais têm sido propostos para o tratamento de várias patologias, tais como: epilepsia, diabetes, ansiedade, depressão, dentre outras. O presente trabalho realizou um extenso levantamento na literatura especializada de plantas medicinais com propriedades anticonvulsivantes. Um total de 355 espécies vegetais foi identifi cado, sendo 16 plantas encontradas na fl ora brasileira, com indicação para o tratamento de quadros convulsivos. Características como nome da espécie, família, partes utilizadas, país do estudo e /ou publicação, métodos e referências foram sumarizados. Além disso, os principais apectos dos modelos animais mais utilizados no estudo de plantas/substâncias com propriedades anticonvulsivantes foram revisados. Mais de 170 referências foram consultadas.Unitermos: Plantas medicinais, Produtos naturais, convulsão, atividade anticonvulsivante, modelos animais, revisão. ABSTRACT:Seizures are resistant to treatment with currently available anticonvulsant drugs in about 1 out of 3 patients with epilepsy. Thus, there is a need for new, more effective anticonvulsant drugs for intractable epilepsy. However, nature is a rich source of biological and chemical diversity and a number of plants in the world have been used in traditional medicine remedies, i.e., anticonvulsant, anxiolytic, analgesic, antidepressant. This work constitutes a literature review on medicinal plants showing anticonvulsant properties. The review refers to 16 Brazilian plants and a total 355 species, their families, geographical distribution, the utilized parts, method and references. Some aspects of research on medicinal plants and a brief review of the most common animal models to discover antiepileptic drugs are discussed. For this purpose over 170 references were consulted.

Ocimum basilicum leaf essential oil and (-)-linalool reduce orofacial nociception in rodents: a behavioral and electrophysiological approach

“…Several Ocimum species (Lamiaceae) are used to treat central nervous system (CNS) disorders in various parts of the world and its anticonvulsant activity is frequently reported (Quintans-Júnior et al, 2008b;Oliveira et al, 2009). Ocimum basilicum L. essential oil is rich in monoterpenes, such as δ-cadinol (10.2%), estragole (22.6%), and linalool (47.3%) (Mazutti et al, 2006 (Blank et al, 2007).…”

Bioassay-guided evaluation of central nervous system effects of citronellal in rodents

“…An increasing number of studies have demonstrated that essential oils derived from plants exhibit a variety of biological properties, such as anticonvulsant (Quintans-Júnior et al, 2008a), analgesic and Central Nervous System (CNS) activities (Carlini, 2003;Silva et al, 2007). Monoterpenes are the primary components of essential oils and the effects of many herbal medicines have been attributed to them (Gherlardini et al, 2001;De Sousa et al, 2006).…”

Evaluation of antibacterial activity of "Mangabarana" Austroplenckia populnea Reissek (Celastraceae)

“…However, the efficacy and trustworthiness in medicinal plant products have demonstrated the real value of these materials. Brazil have a great diversity of native plants (Mors, et al, 2000, Barbosa-Filho, et al, 2005, Brandão, et al, 2006Quintans-Júnior et al, 2008), but its medicinal properties had had not been adequately studied yet. The scientific study of plants used in folk medicine is essential to lower the adverse effect risk for populations (Agra et al, 2008).…”