Prevalence and Related Factors to Herbal Medicines Use among Pregnant Females

Aims. To undertake a systematic review of the recent (2008–2013) primary literature, describing views and experiences of CAM use during pregnancy by women and healthcare professionals.Method. Medline, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Cochrane Database of Systematic Review Library and Allied, and Complementary Medicine Database were searched. Studies reporting systemic CAM products (homeopathic preparations, herbal medicines, Vitamins and minerals, homeopathy, and special diets) alone or in combination with other nonsystemic CAM modalities (e.g., acupuncture) were included.Results. Database searches retrieved 2,549 citations. Removal of duplicates followed by review of titles and abstracts yielded 32 relevant studies. Twenty-two reported the perspectives of women and their CAM use during pregnancy, while 10 focused on healthcare professionals. The majority of studies had significant flaws in study design and reporting, including a lack of appropriate definitions of CAM and associated modalities, absence of detailed checklists provided to participants, the use of convenience sampling, and a general lack of scientific robustness in terms of data validity and reliability.Conclusion. To permit generalisability of study findings, there is an urgent need to expand the evidence base assessing CAMs use during pregnancy using appropriately designed studies.

Download Full-text

The relationship between women’s characteristics and herbal medicines use during pregnancy

Women & Health ◽

10.1080/03630242.2017.1421285 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 59 (6) ◽

pp. 579-590

Author(s):

Fatemeh Abdollahi ◽

Jamshid Yazdani Chareti

Keyword(s):

Herbal Medicines ◽

Medicines Use ◽

The Relationship

Download Full-text

A Retrospective Cohort Study of Herbal Medicines Use during Pregnancy: Prevalence, Adverse Reactions, and Newborn Outcomes

Traditional and Integrative Medicine ◽

10.18502/tim.v5i2.3627 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Kosar Raoufinejad ◽

Kheirollah Gholami ◽

Mohammadreza Javadi ◽

Mehdi Rajabi ◽

Hassan Torkamandi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Adverse Reactions ◽

Herbal Medicines ◽

Low Frequency ◽

Postpartum Women ◽

Discharge Data ◽

Face To Face ◽

Newborn Outcomes ◽

Medicines Use ◽

Gastrointestinal Complaints ◽

Potential Risks

This study aimed to investigate the herbal medicines use prevalence and adverse drug reactions (ADRs) during pregnancy as well as the probable effects on newborn outcomes. Postpartum women with a live singleton infant were eligible if declared consent before discharge. Data was collected retrospectively by face-to-face interviews. Generally, 400 pairs of mother/infant were recruited. At least one herbal medicine was used by 325/400 (81.3%) women. Peppermint, frankincense, flixweed, olive oil, and cinnamon were the most common herbs. Overall, 26 ADRs were reported by 19/325 (5.8%) women. Gastrointestinal complaints were the most frequent herbal ADRs (18/26, 69.2%). Gestational age, Apgar scores, birthweight, complications, and malformations of newborns were similar between groups. In conclusion, herbal medicines were highly used by pregnant women, while they did not affect newborn outcomes either positively or adversely. Despite low frequency rate of herbal ADRs during pregnancy, their safety, efficacy, interactions, and potential risks need further studies.

Download Full-text

The Prevalence and Predictors of Herbal Medicines’ Use in Cancer: A systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Observational Studies.

10.31730/osf.io/cbtpy ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

John Baptist Asiimwe ◽

Sarki Ahmed ◽

Mauda Mugisha Kamatenesi ◽

Esther Atukunda ◽

Prakash PN ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Herbal Medicine ◽

Cancer Patients ◽

Observational Studies ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Herbal Medicines ◽

Medicines Use ◽

Geographical Regions ◽

The World ◽

Economic Regions

The study aims to estimate the prevalence of herbal medicines use in cancer patients across the various regions of the world (geographical regions, economic regions) and establish the key predictors of herbal medicines use in those regions. The study will only synthesize literature from primary observational studies (cohorts and crosssectional study) reported in english between 2000 and 2020 (current). This study is evisaged to provide updated data on the magnitude of herbal medicine in cancer, that will in the end guide healthcare policy.

Download Full-text

Safety of Herbal Medicines in Children

10.5772/intechopen.94545 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Sevinç Polat ◽

Ayşe Gürol

Keyword(s):

Herbal Medicine ◽

Pediatric Population ◽

Clinical Care ◽

Herbal Medicines ◽

World Health ◽

Herbal Products ◽

Medicines Use ◽

Herbal Medicinal ◽

Health Complications ◽

Health Organization

Herbal medicine is used by individuals of all ages, including children. Herbal medicine includes herbs, herbal materials and preparations, and finished herbal products. Herbal medicine or herbal products’ use for all ages have increased in recent years. Based on the data of the World Health Organization, almost 80% of the population in developing countries trust herbal medicines to meet their health needs. Herbal medicines use unconsciously as though these products are harmless. The use of herbal products in children is a concern because little information is available concerning the benefits and risks of these products in the pediatric population. This creates a serious problem in the treatment of children, and reveals a serious and under-recognized hazard in clinical care. The safety of most herbal medicinal products is absent since lack of suitable quality controls and not available of appropriate patient information. Owing to the possibility of serious health complications arising from the use of herbal products, it is mandatory to understand their use in the general population in order for appropriate measures to be put into place.

Download Full-text

Labor analgesia for the parturient with herbal medicines use: what does an obstetrician need to know?

Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics ◽

10.1007/s00404-006-0136-0 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 274 (4) ◽

pp. 233-239 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Krzysztof M. Kuczkowski

Keyword(s):

Herbal Medicines ◽

Labor Analgesia ◽

Medicines Use

Download Full-text

Herbal Medicines Use During Pregnancy: A Review from the Middle East

Oman Medical Journal ◽

10.5001/omj.2015.48 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 30 (4) ◽

pp. 229-236 ◽

Cited By ~ 40

Author(s):

Lisha J. John ◽

Nisha Shantakumari

Keyword(s):

Middle East ◽

Herbal Medicines ◽

Medicines Use

Download Full-text

Recent Advances in Anti-Metastatic Approaches of Herbal Medicines in 5 Major Cancers: From Traditional Medicine to Modern Drug Discovery

Antioxidants ◽

10.3390/antiox10040527 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (4) ◽

pp. 527

Author(s):

Jinkyung Park ◽

Dahee Jeong ◽

Meeryoung Song ◽

Bonglee Kim

Keyword(s):

Protein Kinase ◽

Cancer Metastasis ◽

Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition ◽

Herbal Medicines ◽

Metastatic Potential ◽

Experimental Models ◽

Breast Cancers ◽

Related Factors ◽

Mesenchymal Transition ◽

Modern Drug

Metastasis is the main cause of cancer-related death. Despite its high fatality, a comprehensive study that covers anti-metastasis of herbal medicines has not yet been conducted. The aim of this study is to investigate and assess the anti-metastatic efficacies of herbal medicines in the five major cancers, including lung, colorectal, gastric, liver, and breast cancers. We collected articles published within five years using PubMed, Google Scholar, and Web of Science with “cancer metastasis” and “herbal medicine” as keywords. Correspondingly, 16 lung cancer, 23 colorectal cancer, 10 gastric cancer, 10 liver cancer, and 18 breast cancer studies were systematically reviewed. The herbal medicines attenuated metastatic potential targeting various mechanisms such as epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT), reactive oxygen species (ROS), and angiogenesis. Specifically, the drugs regulated metastasis related factors such as matrix metalloproteinase (MMP), serine-threonine protein kinase/extracellular regulated protein kinase (AKT/ERK), angiogenic factors, and chemokines. Overall, the present study is the first review, comprehensively investigating the anti-metastasis effect of herbal medicines on five major cancers, providing the experimental models, doses and durations, and mechanisms. Herbal medicines could be a potent candidate for anti-metastatic drugs.

Download Full-text

The Signaling Pathways Involved in the Antiatherosclerotic Effects Produced by Chinese Herbal Medicines

BioMed Research International ◽

10.1155/2018/5392375 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 2018 ◽

pp. 1-16 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Li Lu ◽

Xiaodong Sun ◽

Yating Qin ◽

Xiaomei Guo

Keyword(s):

Signaling Pathways ◽

Molecular Mechanisms ◽

Chinese Herb ◽

Herbal Medicines ◽

Signal Pathways ◽

Asian Countries ◽

Related Factors ◽

Endothelium Dysfunction ◽

Chinese Herbal ◽

Signal Cascades

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are considered to be the predominant cause of death in the world. Chinese herb medicines (CHMs) have been widely used for the treatment of CVDs in Asian countries for thousands of years. One reason of high efficacy of CHMs in treating CVDs is attributed to their inhibition in atherosclerosis (AS) development, a critical contributor to CVDs occurrence. Cumulative studies have demonstrated that CHMs alleviate atherogenesis via mediating pathophysiologic events involved in AS. However, there is deficiency in the summaries regarding antiatherogenic signal pathways regulated by CHMs. In this review, we focus on the signal cascades by which herb medicines and relevant extractives, derivatives, and patents improve proatherogenic processes including endothelium dysfunction, lipid accumulation, and inflammation. We mainly elaborate the CHMs-mediated signaling pathways in endothelial cells, macrophages, and vascular smooth muscle cells of each pathogenic event. Moreover, we briefly describe the other AS-related factors such as thrombosis, autophagy, immune response, and noncoding RNAs and effects of CHMs on them in the way of cascade regulation, which is helpful to further illustrate the molecular mechanisms of AS initiation and progression and discover newly effective agents for AS management.

Download Full-text