苦參堿類生物堿包括苦參堿、氧化苦參堿、槐定堿、槐果堿等，中毒時可引起肝、腎、肺和腦損傷，其中對中樞神經過度興奮可引起癲癇樣驚厥發(fā)作，嚴重的可麻痹呼吸而致死。內部異常放電的海馬和杏仁核可能是苦參堿類生物堿致驚厥的原發(fā)部位，驚厥樣腦電波通過過度激活海馬-內側穿行-顳葉皮層通路，將逐步產生同步化電震蕩擴散到整個皮層，引起驚厥大發(fā)作樣放電而誘發(fā)癲癇?？鄥A類生物堿提高中樞神經的興奮性遞質谷氨酸水平，降低抑制性遞質γ-氨基丁酸水平，以及抑制膽堿酯酶活性造成膽堿能神經興奮，是引起癲癇樣發(fā)作的生物化學機制。

The toxicity of matrine-type alkaloids, including matrine, oxymatrine, sophoridine, sophocarpine, can cause the injuries of liver, kidney, lung, and brain. Overexcitation of the central nervous system stimulated by which can lead to epileptic seizures, even to death because of respiratory paralysis. The hippocampus and amygdala with internal abnormal discharge may be the primary sites for the eclamptogenic effect of matrine-type alkaloids. The convulsive brain waves will gradually produce synchronous oscillations to diffuse the whole cortex by excessive activation of the hippocampus-medial perforant path-temporal cortex pathway, which can cause convulsive discharge, thereby inducing epilepsy. The biochemical mechanism of inducing epileptic seizure of matrine-type alkaloids may be by increasing the excitatory neurotransmitter glutamic acid level, decreasing the inhibitory neurotransmitter γ-aminobutylic acid level in central nerves, and inhibiting the activity of cholinesterase to stimulate cholinergic nerves..