Epilepsy in the Renaissance: a survey of remedies from 16th and 17th century German herbals

Abstract

Ethnopharmacological relevance: Before modern anticonvulsive drugs were developed people in central Europe used herbal remedies to treat epilepsy. Hundreds of different plants for this indication can be found in German herbals of the 16th and 17th centuries. Here we compile these plants and discuss their use from a pharmacological perspective.

Materials and methods: Nine of the most important European herbals of the 16th and 17th century including Bock (1577), Fuchs (1543), Mattioli (1590), Lonicerus (1660, 1770), Brunfels (1532), Zwinger (1696), and Tabernaemontanus (1591, 1678) were searched for terms related to epilepsy, and plants and recipes described for its treatment were documented. We then searched scientific literature for pharmacological evidence of their effectiveness. Additionally the overlapping of these remedies with those in De Materia Medica by the Greek physician Dioscorides was studied.

Results: Two hundred twenty one plants were identified in the herbals to be used in the context of epilepsy. In vitro and/or in vivo pharmacological data somehow related to the indication epilepsy was found for less than 5% of these plants. Less than 7% of epilepsy remedies are in common with De Materia Medica.

Conclusions: Numerous plants were used to treat epilepsy in the 16th and 17th centuries. However, few of these plants have been investigated with respect to pharmacological activity on epilepsy related targets.