Traditional Approaches and Medicinal Plants in Treatment of Epilepsy in West and East Africa

Background: Epilepsy has affected over sixty million people around the globe. Traditionally, communities have opted for complementary and alternative medicines (CAM) to help in the treatment of epilepsy which has worked for them and with minimal side effects. Methodology: A literature search was conducted from PubMed, Science Direct, Elsevier, Google Scholar, and many other sites that had studied on traditional approaches and medicinal plants which have been used commonly in west and east African communities and whose anticonvulsant or antiepileptic activities have been experimentally studied. Results: A total number of five traditional approaches for healing and nineteen medicinal plants were identified as the most commonly used by communities in west and east Africa, based on the literature which was available in ethnobotanical surveys and had experimental studies on anticonvulsant or antiepileptic conducted. Conclusion: In this study, twenty-four traditional approaches and medicinal plants were found in west and east Africa for the treatment of epilepsy. Further study on the phytoconstituents present in the medicinal plants should be carried out to isolate the active principles and to prove their pharmacological activities. Inclusion of the other well approved healing approaches and techniques recommended in epilepsy treatment in health settings.