Ethnomedical and toxicity evaluation of medicinal plants used for the treatment of convulsions and epilepsy in Mahenge, Tanzania

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Background: Mahenge is known to have a high prevalence of epilepsy as compared to reported figures elsewhere. While patients continue to be managed with modern antiepileptic drugs (AEDs), we learned that herbal medicines are among the treatment options in this area. However, ethnomedical and safety information of the plants being used is underreported or lacking.Aim: This study aimed to document ethnomedical information and establish preliminary evidence for the safety of plants used for convulsions and epilepsy in Mahenge.Methods: Ethnomedical information was collected using a structured questionnaire, and a Botanist identified medicinal plants. Plant materials were collected, dried, and extracted using 80% aqueous ethanol. Quantitative ethnomedicinal analysis was done by determining relative frequency citation (RFC). Toxicity was assessed using the brine shrimp test, and the concentration killing fifty percent of the larvae (LC50) was determined from the regression equations obtained by the Fig. P computer program.Results: 27 plant species belonging to 18 families were documented. The literature review showed that 33.3% of the plants were previously reported for treating convulsions and epilepsy or used as sedatives. Brine shrimp results suggest that extracts of all the reported plants are non-toxic with LC50 >100 µg/mL except Senegalia polyacantha leaf extract, considered moderately toxic with LC50 of 56.44 µg/mL. Conclusion: Literature information and the brine shrimp toxicity results provide evidence to support the traditional use of a few of the reported plants. However, further studies using various epilepsy models are recommended to develop the evidence of using the documented plants.

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