Research Paper | Learn about which Medicinal plants used against epilepsy | JBES

 

Journal of Biodiversity and Environmental Sciences | JBES published an article about the useability of Medicinal plants against Epilepsy. JBES published this in their January issue 2020, under volume 16, entitled "Medicinal plants used against epilepsy by the local communities of Sargodha region, Pakistan". This research work has been developed by Amin Shah, Sarvat Rahim, Zarqa Bashir, Asif Abbas Shah, Shoaib Shah, Shahzad Hussain, Nuzhat Rasul, Summaya Arif, Ifra Akhtar, Ihsan Ullah, and Mahmooda Hassan from the different institute of Pakistan. Get some knowledge about it.

Many plants are claimed to be effective to treat epilepsy, but very little knowledge is available about such plants used by various ethnic communities in Pakistan. This study presents the first report on the ethnomedicinal knowledge among the local communities of the Sargodha region, Pakistan in this regard by using quantitative ethnobotanical approaches. 84 aboriginal households (house-to-house interviews) including 10 traditional healers who still practiced their aboriginal system of medicine were interviewed to collect information on the herbal preparations used by them to treat epilepsy. Data were documented by using semi-structured questionnaires to consult the residents about their awareness of plants used against epilepsy. Documented data was assessed using the frequency of citation (FC) preference ranking (PR), percentage of respondents having knowledge about the use of species (PRK), and Relative Frequency Citation (RFC). A total of 49 plant species belonging to 45 genera and 34 families were reported to cure epilepsy. The highest percentage of life forms was found to be herbs (63.2%). The Leaves were the dominant plant part with 29.4% and most of the herbal medicines were prepared in the form of decoction (54%). Plants with the highest RFC values were Bacopa monnieri (0.61) followed by Xanthium strumarium (0.57), Achyranthes Aspera (0.51) and Citrus maxima (0.44). A high proportion of respondents (PRK) was found for Bacopa monnieri (61.2%) followed by Xanthium strumarium (57.1%), Achyranthes Aspera (51.0%), and Citrus maxima (44.8%). The study will be used as baseline data for analyzing phytochemical constituents and bioactive compounds of these promising medicinal plants.

"Many plants are claimed to be effective to treat epilepsy, but very little knowledge is available about such plants used by various ethnic communities in Pakistan. This study presents the first report on the ethnomedicinal knowledge among the local communities of the Sargodha region, Pakistan in this regard by using quantitative ethnobotanical approaches."

Epilepsy is a chronic and often progressive group of disorders characterized by frequent and spontaneous seizures that deceivingly result from complex processes including various neurotransmitter systems such as glutamatergic, cholinergic, and gabaergic systems (Löscher, 1998; Almeida et al., 2011). Epilepsy is locally known as ‘Mirgi’ in the studied area is one of the most common chronic neurological disorders which have no age, race, social class, or geographical boundaries. It is reported to be one of the world’s oldest recognized health disorders, with written records dating back to 4000 BC. The disease is one of the utmost common neural sicknesses universally, which is included among the most complicated and least understood disorders throughout the world (Kobau and Price, 2003). About 50 million people are known to be affected worldwide by this miraculous disorder (Scheuer and Pedley, 1990). The disease is not curable but can normally be controlled with modern anti-convulsants, which prevent the seizures or diminish their intensity empowering a less delimited life. However, over 30% of people with epilepsy have uncontrolled seizures even with the best existing drugs (Engel, 1996). In established States where treatments are easily manageable, epilepsy responds to treatment in up to 70% of the patients, but in emerging States, 75-90% of patients with epilepsy do not receive operative medication (WHO, 2003; Kumar et al., 2012).

The mortality rate is two to three times higher and the risk of sudden death with epilepsy is twenty-four times greater than that of the general diseases (Ficker, 2000). A trivial lessening in occurrence is imminent between the ages of 40 and 59. Greater incidence is perceived in the rural populace. It has been estimated that approximately 2.5 million people are suffering from epilepsy in Pakistan (WPD, 2015), representing nearly 1% of the overall Pakistani populace, and the majority of patients are below 19 years of age. The rate of age-specific frequency is 14.8 per 1000 in rural areas and 7.4 per 1000 in urban areas (Aziz et al., 1994). Nearly 90% of these patients do not get proper treatment. A decline in rate is noted between the ages of 40 to 59. The etiology of this disorder is clearly identified in the pediatric population (Khatri et al., 2004). Pakistan has wide variations in geographic regions and the ethnic diversity of Pakistan is more visible along with cultural differences and ethnobotanical knowledge of herbal medicine (Shah et al., 2012). Sargodha Region of Pakistan is gifted with very rich biodiversity like Sakesar, Soon Valley, Namal Valley, Kala Bagh, Makerwal, Gulla Khel, Amb Sharif, etc., and is home to indigenous communities. These communities have a long history of traditions and are totally dependent on natural resources for their daily needs. Documentation of indigenous knowledge about ethnobotanical important flora add value to the biodiversity of the region and if this recording and documenting is not practiced then the precious knowledge will be lost forever. Therefore, it is a dire need to document this precious indigenous knowledge for future generations. The current research was carried out with the intention to document the information concerning traditional herbal medications used for the treatment of epilepsy, as there was no comprehensive study conducted about anti-epileptic plants in the area. Furthermore, our aim was also to preserve valued and fast vanishing aboriginal knowledge on the use of medicinal plants of the area, based on a standard ethnomedicinal survey. Information gathered will serve as baseline data for analyzing phytochemical constituents and bioactive compounds of these promising medicinal plants. Check out more at "Medicinal plants used against epilepsy by the local communities of the Sargodha region, Pakistan"