2014, Vol.4, No.1

CELLMED 2023 KCI Impact Factor : 0.02

pISSN : 3022-6805 / eISSN : 3022-6791
https://journal.kci.go.kr/cellmed

Epilepsy has now become the most serious brain disorder. A number of synthetic antiepileptic drugs are available in practice, however their effectiveness does not grip true with the entire population suffering from epilepsy. Traditional systems of medicine are popular in developing countries and most of the population relies on traditional medicines for their primary health care need. Medicinal plants to be an important source of traditional medicines. Various plants are used for the treatment of epilepsy in traditional system of medicines and various plants are yet to be scientifically investigated. Phyto-constituents have been the basis of treatment of human diseases including epilepsy. Herbal products are extensively used for the treatment of many diseases worldwide and where allopathic fails or has severe side effects. Psycho neural drugs are also have very serious side effects like physical dependence, tolerance, deterioration of cognitive function and effect on respiratory, digestive and immune system. So the treatments through herbal medicines are widely used across the world due to their wide applicability and therapeutic efficacy with least side effects, which in turn has accelerated the research regarding natural therapy. In this review we have summarized some herbal anti-epileptics.

The plant kingdom is considered to be a repository of modern medicine, attributable to their rich source of bio-active molecules and secondary metabolites. It is indeed the Nutraceuticals that enhance immunity and ensure a healthier life because of their prophylactic and therapeutic values. Over centuries, papaya [Caricaceae; (Carica papaya Linn.)] is a renowned nutritious and medicinal plant. Each part of the papaya like root, stem, leaf, flower, fruit, seed, rinds, and latex has its own nutraceutical properties. It serves as food, cooking aid, and Ethnomedicine to prevent and treat wide-range of diseases and disorders. It has also been traditionally used as appetite enhancer, meat tenderizer, purgative, medicinal acne, abortifacient and vermifuge. Over decades, a series of scientific attempts were made to authenticate the nutraceutical properties of papaya. These studies validated that the papaya has antiplasmodial, antitrichochramal, antitrichomonal, antidengue, and anti-cancer activities. They have also exhibited that papaya possesses antiseptic, antiparasitic, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, and contraceptive features, and it helps in the management of sickle-cell anaemia, HIV, heart diseases and digestional disorders too. Nevertheless, the responsible bio-active molecules and their mode of actions remain indistinct and imprecise, and this calls for further pharmacological and clinical research on them. Conclusively, papaya is one of the naturally gifted plants; though its nutraceutical properties as a food or as a quasi-drug are poorly understood or undervalued by people. Accordingly, this scrutiny, demand for instigation of public health awareness campaigns to promote papaya consumption, so that the society shall acquire optimal benefits of papaya and in turn prevent and alleviate various diseases and illness.

Spa represents a treatment widely used in many rheumatic diseases (RD). The mechanisms by which immersion in mineral or thermal water ameliorates RD are not fully understood. The net benefit is probably the result of a combination of factors, among which the mechanical, thermal and chemical effects are most prominent. Buoyancy, immersion, resistance and temperature play important roles. According to the gate theory, pain relief may be due to the pressure and temperature of the water on skin; heat may reduce muscle spasm and increase the pain threshold. Mud-bath therapy increases plasma β-endorphin levels and secretion of corticotrophin, cortisol, growth hormone and prolactin. It has recently been demonstrated that thermal mud-bath therapy induces a reduction in circulating levels of prostaglandin E2, leukotriene B4, interleukin-1β and tumour necrosis factor-α, important mediators of inflammation and pain. Furthermore, balneotherapy has been found to cause an increase in insulin-like growth factor-1, which stimulates cartilage metabolism, and transforming growth factor-β. Beneficial anti-inflammatory and anti-degenerative effects of mineral water were confirmed in chondrocytes cultures, too. Various studies in vitro and in humans have highlighted the positive action of mud-packs and thermal baths, especially sulphurous ones, on the oxidant/antioxidant system. Overall, thermal stress has an immunosuppressive effect. Many other non-specific factors may also contribute to the beneficial effects observed after spa therapy in some RD, including effects on cardiovascular risk factors (e.g. adipokines) and changes in the environment, pleasant surroundings and the absence of work duties.