苦参碱类生物碱包括苦参碱、氧化苦参碱、槐定碱、槐果碱等，中毒时可引起肝、肾、肺和脑损伤，其中对中枢神经过度兴奋可引起癫痫样惊厥发作，严重的可麻痹呼吸而致死。内部异常放电的海马和杏仁核可能是苦参碱类生物碱致惊厥的原发部位，惊厥样脑电波通过过度激活海马-内侧穿行-颞叶皮层通路，将逐步产生同步化电震荡扩散到整个皮层，引起惊厥大发作样放电而诱发癫痫。苦参碱类生物碱提高中枢神经的兴奋性递质谷氨酸水平，降低抑制性递质γ-氨基丁酸水平，以及抑制胆碱酯酶活性造成胆碱能神经兴奋，是引起癫痫样发作的生物化学机制。

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..