Chapter 12 HERBAL TREATMENT OF EPILEPSY: PHYTOTHERAPY Daniel J. Luciano, M.D. and Marcello Spinella, Ph.D. Phytotherapy is a form of complementary and alternative medicine that uses plants to treat diseases, including epilepsy. The World Health Organization has estimated that 80 percent of the world population uses some form of herbal medication, and it is estimated that greater than 50 percent of the United States population uses herbs for medicinal purposes, at a cost greater than three billion dollars annually. Herbs and other forms of alternative therapy are most commonly used for chronic disorders that may not respond ideally to conventional forms of therapy. In addition, many patients have become disillusioned with the Western model of medicine. They are concerned about the potential toxic side effects and cost of artificially produced medications, and would prefer to use “natural” remedies. Herbs have been popular in Europe for centuries and remain so today. They were also quite popular in American medicine until the twentieth century, when they were largely replaced by pharmaceuticals. In the U.S. and elsewhere they remain a mainstay of treatment in the practice of homeopathy and naturopathy. They are still used extensively in many developing nations. Recently, herbs were even found in a pouch worn by a 5,200-year-old prehistoric frozen mummy (“Oetzi”) found in Northern Italy that is now on display in Bolzano, Italy. The first official compilation of herbal treatments was ordered by the King of Sumeria in 2000 B.C., consisting of 250 substances. The ancient Greeks and 1