Herbal medicine: women's views, knowledge and interaction with doctors: a qualitative study

Background  

There is growing concern that serious interactions are occurring between prescribed/over the counter and herbal medicines and that there is a lack of disclosure of herbal use by patients to doctors. This study explores women's perspectives about the safety of herbal remedies, herb-drug interactions and communication with doctors about herbal medicines.     

A gap between acceptance and knowledge of herbal remedies by physicians: The need for educational intervention

Background  

The unprecedented global increase in the use of herbal remedies is set to continue apace well into the foreseeable future. This raises important public health concerns, especially as it relates to safety issues including adverse effects and herb-drug interactions. Most Western-trained physicians are ignorant of the risks and benefits of this healthcare modality and assessment of acceptance and knowledge would identify appropriate intervention strategies to improve physician-patient communication in this area.     

Microbial Load and Antimicrobial Property of Two Nigerian Herbal Remedies

The use of herbal remedies had increased significantly in the last one decade in Nigeria. This has led to the production of herbal products with bogus claims. The microbial quality and antibacterial properties of two Nigerian herbal remedies with such claimed efficacy of curing all manners of microbial diseases were assessed. The herbal remedies were discovered to be contaminated with the following microorganisms: Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus coagulans, Bacillus cereus, Basidiobotrytis sp, Oedocephalum sp, Varicosporium sp and Articulospora inflata. Antibacterial analysis using the killing rate revealed that the herbal remedies had bacteriostatic and not bacteriocidal effect. Qualitative phytochemical screening of the herbal remedies revealed the presence of saponin, tannins, alkaloids, anthraquinone and cardiac glycosides which suggest possible antimicrobial effect. However, the presence of microbial contaminants in the herbal remedies suggests that they may serve as source of infection to end users.     

Duhuo Jisheng Tang for treating osteoarthritis of the knee: a prospective clinical observation

Background  

Little scientific evidence supports the efficacy of herbal medicines in the treatment of degenerative arthritis of the knee. The purpose of this study is to evaluate both the efficacy and safety of a finished Chinese herbal preparation Duhuo Jisheng Tang (DJT) in reducing symptoms of degenerative osteoarthritis of the knee.     

Herbal remedy clinical trials in the media: a comparison with the coverage of conventional pharmaceuticals

Background  

This study systematically compares newspaper coverage of clinical trials for herbal remedies, a popular type of complementary and alternative medicine, with clinical trials for pharmaceuticals using a comparative content analysis. This is a timely inquiry given the recognized importance of the popular press as a source of health information, the complex and significant role of complementary and alternative medicine in individual health-care decisions, and the trend toward evidence-based research for some complementary and alternative medical therapies. We searched PubMed for clinical trials, Lexis/Nexis for newspaper articles in the UK, US, Australia/New Zealand, and Factiva for Canadian newspaper articles from 1995 to 2005. We used a coding frame to analyze and compare 48 pharmaceutical and 57 herbal remedy clinical trials as well as 201 pharmaceutical and 352 herbal remedy newspaper articles.     

Effects of herbal and dietary supplements on cognition in menopause: a systematic review

Objective

Many postmenopausal women use herbal remedies and dietary supplements to counteract menopausal symptoms, including the decline in cognitive function. The aim of this systematic review is to evaluate the evidence regarding the efficacy of herbal and dietary supplements on cognition in menopause.

Design

Randomized clinical trials (RCTs) of herbal medicines and dietary supplements were identified using the Medline, EMBASE, AMED, PsycINFO, CINAHL and The Cochrane Library 2010 (Issue 2) electronic databases and by hand searches. Data were independently extracted and evaluated by two reviewers. Risk of bias was assessed by two independent reviewers using the Cochrane Collaboration tool.

Results

Twelve RCTs were included and five of these suggest that isoflavone, soy and Gingko biloba supplementation may improve cognition in postmenopausal women. However, most of the included studies had serious methodological flaws which demand a cautious interpretation of these findings.

Conclusions

The evidence that herbal and dietary supplements might positively affect the cognitive decline during the menopause is not compelling.     

Chinese herbal recipe versus diclofenac in symptomatic treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee: a randomized controlled trial [ISRCTN70292892]

Background  

Duhuo Jisheng Wan (DJW) is perhaps the best known and most widely used Chinese herbal recipe for arthralgia, but the clinical study to verify its efficacy is lacking. The purpose of this study was to compare the efficacy of DJW versus diclofenac in symptomatic treatment of osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee.     

High sensitivity <Superscript>1</Superscript>H-NMR spectroscopy of homeopathic remedies made in water

Background  

The efficacy of homeopathy is controversial. Homeopathic remedies are made via iterated shaking and dilution, in ethanol or in water, from a starting substance. Remedies of potency 12 C or higher are ultra-dilute (UD), i.e. contain zero molecules of the starting material. Various hypotheses have been advanced to explain how a UD remedy might be different from unprepared solvent. One such hypothesis posits that a remedy contains stable clusters, i.e. localized regions where one or more hydrogen bonds remain fixed on a long time scale. High sensitivity proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy has not previously been used to look for evidence of differences between UD remedies and controls.     

Use of multivitamins,folic acid and herbal supplements among breast cancer survivors: the black women's health study

Background  

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use, including herbals and multivitamin supplements, is quite common in the U.S., and has been shown to be highest in breast cancer survivors. However, limited data are currently available for CAM usage among African Americans. Thus, we sought to determine the prevalence of multivitamins, folic acid and herbal supplement usage in African American breast cancer survivors, and to compare the characteristics of users and nonusers.     

Herbal medicine use by pregnant women in Bangladesh: a cross-sectional study

Background

Herbal medicines in pregnancy are increasingly used worldwide with prevalence of up to 67%. Although this popularity is mainly because of the common belief that these medicines are safe, recent reports suggest that several herbal medicines are potentially harmful to mother and fetus if used in pregnancy.

Methods

This cross-sectional study was conducted in July and August of year 2017, at maternity wards of two public hospitals in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Postpartum women were interviewed via the structured questionnaire to collect information regarding socio-demographic and health characteristics, patterns of herbal medicines used in the previous pregnancy, and outcome of pregnancy.

Results

Two hundred forty-three postpartum women participated in the study, with 70% of them using at least one modality of herbal medicines in previous pregnancy. Ginger, black seed, lemon tea, prune, and mustard oil were most commonly used herbal medicines. Herbal medicines were mostly used for pregnancy-related symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, and cold. Fifteen (8.8%) herbal medicine users reported side effects.

Conclusions

This study highlights popularity of herbal medicines during pregnancy in Bangladesh. Previous herbal medicine users and unemployed women turned significantly more to herbal medicines during pregnancy. Reports of side effects and use of some potentially harmful modalities warrant awareness regarding proper use of herbal medicines in pregnancy and its pharmacovigilance.

     

Rat models of acute inflammation: a randomized controlled study on the effects of homeopathic remedies

Background  

One of the cardinal principles of homeopathy is the "law of similarities", according to which patients can be treated by administering substances which, when tested in healthy subjects, cause symptoms that are similar to those presented by the patients themselves. Over the last few years, there has been an increase in the number of pre-clinical (in vitro and animal) studies aimed at evaluating the pharmacological activity or efficacy of some homeopathic remedies under potentially reproducible conditions. However, in addition to some contradictory results, these studies have also highlighted a series of methodological difficulties.     

The Bioload and Aflatoxin Content of Herbal Medicines from Selected States in Nigeria

Background

There is increased reliance on traditional herbal medicines by several millions of people worldwide, especially in West Africa and Nigeria in particular. This is due to escalating cost of good quality drugs and consequent proliferation of faked cheaper drugs. However, non standardization of production and handling methods have resulted in herbal medicines with varying quality and safety indices, thus resulting in possible public health concerns. This work investigated the microbial load and aflatoxin levels in herbal medicines from selected states in Nigeria.

Materials and Methods

A total of 210 samples obtained from various renowned herbal medicine practitioners from some selected states in Nigeria, based on their medicinal uses, were analyzed to determine the microbial load by the plate count method and aflatoxin contamination levels using thin layer chromatography with aflatoxin standards.

Results

At least six bacterial genera (Bacillus, Pseudomonas, Salmonella, EPEC, EHEC, Streptococcus and other coliforms) and 6 fungal genera (Aspergillus, Penicillium, Rhizopus, Cladosporium, Geotricum and Candida) were isolated. Aflatoxin B1, B2 and G1 were detected in varying concentrations in the samples analyzed, with an average occurrence of 18.6%. Some of these herbal concoctions were found to contain unacceptably high bioload, according to WHO standards.

Conclusion

Microbial contamination and the presence of aflatoxins in herbal medicines appear to be an endemic problem in Nigeria, as observed in this work, probably due to poor observation of basic hygiene during preparations and poor storage conditions. The findings in this work may serve in developing and instituting public health standards for the production and safety of herbal remedies in Nigeria.     

Expert System for Skin Problem Consultation in Thai Traditional Medicine

Background

This paper aimed to demonstrate the research and development of a rule-based expert system for skin problem consulting in the areas of acne, melasma, freckle, wrinkle, and uneven skin tone, with recommended treatments from Thai traditional medicine knowledge.

Materials and Methods

The tool selected for developing the expert system is a software program written in the PHP language. MySQL database is used to work together with PHP for building database of the expert system. The system is web-based and can be reached from anywhere with Internet access.

Results

The developed expert system gave recommendations on the skin problem treatment with Thai herbal recipes and Thai herbal cosmetics based on 416 rules derived from primary and secondary sources. The system had been tested by 50 users consisting of dermatologists, Thai traditional medicine doctors, and general users. The developed system was considered good for learning and consultation.

Conclusion

The present work showed how such a scattered body of traditional knowledge as Thai traditional medicine and herbal recipes could be collected, organised and made accessible to users and interested parties. The expert system developed herein should contribute in a meaningful way towards preserving the knowledge and helping promote the use of Thai traditional medicine as a practical alternative medicine for the treatment of illnesses.     

Animal-based folk remedies sold in public markets in Crato and Juazeiro do Norte, Ceará, Brazil

Background  

Human communities consistently develop a detailed knowledge of the therapeutical and medicinal properties of the local flora and fauna, and these folk remedies often substitute medicines produced by the pharmaceutical industry. Animals (and their derived products) are essential ingredients in the preparation of many traditional remedies. The present work prepared an inventory of the animals sold in public markets in the cities of Crato and Juazeiro do Norte, Ceará State, Brazil.     

Effect of an herbal extract Number Ten (NT) on body weight in rats

Background  

Chinese herbal extract Number Ten (NT) is a dietary herbal formulation prepared from rhubarb, ginger, astragalus, red sage and tumeric. This study tested the effectiveness of NT in reducing body weight gain in rats.     

Preclinical efficacy and safety of herbal formulation for management of wounds

Background

Medicinal plants in Uganda and other developing countries have been scientifically demonstrated to have medicinal benefits but few or none have been translated to products for clinical use. Most herbal products developed by local herbalists and sold to the public are not standardized and lack efficacy and safety data to support use.

Objective

To formulate from two Ugandan medicinal plants a herbal product for wound management and test its preclinical safety and efficacy using rat models.

Methods

Thirty (30) Wistar albino rats were randomly divided into three groups and wounds were surgically created on the mid-dorsal region. The wounds were treated topically with distilled water (group I), Jena^® (group II)and Neomycin sulfate cream (group III). The effects of the treatments on rate of wound closure, epithelialisation time and histological organization of tissue were assessed.

Results

The herbal formulation (Jena) had a significantly higher rate of wound closure than neomycin (p<0.05) which itself was better than distilled water. Epithelialisation time was also significantly shorter for the herbal product (p<0.01). Histological picture revealed more collagen fibers, less inflammation and better tissue remodeling for rats treated with herbal product.

Conclusion

The herbal formulation Jena^® systematically designed and formulated based on two Ugandan medicinal plants is according to this study better than neomycin and probably other imported products for wound management in Uganda. We recommend its trial in a clinical setting as an alternative in wound management.     

Prediction of gastrointestinal disease with over-the-counter diarrheal remedy sales records in the San Francisco Bay Area

Background  

Water utilities continue to be interested in implementing syndromic surveillance for the enhanced detection of waterborne disease outbreaks. The authors evaluated the ability of sales of over-the-counter diarrheal remedies available from the National Retail Data Monitor to predict endemic and epidemic gastrointestinal disease in the San Francisco Bay Area.     

Factors associated with herbal use among urban multiethnic primary care patients: a cross-sectional survey

Background  

The use of herbal supplements in the United States has become increasingly popular. The prevalence of herbal use among primary care patients varies in previous studies; the pattern of herbal use among urban racially/ethnically diverse primary care patients has not been widely studied. The primary objectives of this study were to describe the use of herbs by ethnically diverse primary care patients in a large metropolitan area and to examine factors associated with such use. The secondary objective was to investigate perceptions about and patterns of herbal use.