Antioxidant and anticonvulsant effect of a modified formula of Chaihu-Longu-Muli-Tang

Antiepileptic drug therapy in individuals with epilepsy can induce free radical generation and profound lipid peroxidation. Some Chinese herbs with antiepileptic potential show antioxidant effects. We performed an open add-on study of TW970, a modified formula of the Chinese medicine Chaihu-Longu-Muli-Tang, on 20 patients with refractory epilepsy and a seizure frequency of at least four fits per month, and another 20 patients with benign epilepsy and a seizure frequency of less than four fits per month. The control group consisted of 20 age-matched healthy adults. Seizure frequency, serum malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione (GSH) and copper-zinc superoxide dismutase (Cu,Zn-SOD) were investigated in patients with refractory and benign epilepsy before and after four months add-on treatment of TW970. There was a decrease in seizure frequency in refractory epileptics from 13.4+/-3.4 to 10.7+/-2.5/per month, although the p value was 0.084. Before TW970 add-on treatment, a significant enhancement of lipid peroxidation with increased MDA and Cu,Zn-SOD activities together with decreased GSH were seen in refractory epileptics compared with normal controls. After TW970 add-on treatment of refractory epileptics for four months, normalization of MDA and Cu,Zn-SOD levels was achieved. Before and after TW970 add-on treatment, there were no statistically significant changes of the above-mentioned parameters in the patients with benign epilepsy. These results suggest that TW970 can reduce the seizure frequency in patients with refractory epilepsy and this may be due to the antioxidant effects of the modified formula of Chaihu-Longu-Muli-Tang.