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

John, Lisha Jenny; Shantakumari, Nisha

doi:10.5001/omj.2015.48

Cited by 146 publications

(171 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…The most widely used herbs include garlic, St. John’s wort, ginger, ginseng, Echinacea, kava and devil’s claw [2, 3]. These herbs are commonly used by pregnant women to relieve various complaints they experience during pregnancy.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A review study that investigated this practice in nine Middle Eastern countries found that the prevalence of herbal medication use during pregnancy ranged from 22.3% to 82.3% and that the most commonly used herbs included peppermint, ginger, thyme chamomile, sage, aniseeds, fenugreek, green tea, and garlic [3]. …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, many woman still use herbs during pregnancy to relieve discomfort because many women believe that herbs cause less harm than biomedicine [3, 8, 9]. This can be attributed to the fact that many biomedical drugs and procedures have documented adverse effects on fetal development.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Prevalence, knowledge and attitudes toward herbal medication use by Saudi women in the central region during pregnancy, during labor and after delivery

Al-Ghamdi

Aldossari

Al-Zahrani

et al. 2017

BMC Complement Altern Med

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BackgroundHerbal medication usage is prevalent in both developing and developed countries. The low level of awareness of the possible dangers of some herbs during pregnancy increases the risk of unwarranted sequelae. This manuscript describes the first study of herbal medication use among pregnant women in Saudi Arabia. It aims to determine the prevalence of herbal medication use during pregnancy, during labor and after delivery in the central region of Saudi Arabia.MethodsA cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted over a 5-month period from May 15 to October 15, 2016. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed at 4 main hospitals and 3 primary care centers in Riyadh and Al Kharj. Data from 612 participants were collected and analyzed. Descriptive statistics in the form of frequency and percentage were determined, and Chi-squared tests were performed.ResultsOf the 612 participants, 25.3%, 33.7% and 48.9% used herbs during pregnancy, during labor, and after delivery, respectively. The primary motives for using herbal medication during pregnancy, during labor and after delivery were to boost general health, ease and accelerate labor and clean the womb, respectively. There was a significant association between use during pregnancy and prior use (P = 0.001). Most pregnant women used herbs based on advice from family and friends (52.9%). Only 40.7% of pregnant women disclosed their herbal use to their doctors.ConclusionThe prevalence of herbal medication use among pregnant Saudi women in Riyadh and Al Kharj is relatively high. Doctors should be aware of evidence regarding the potential benefits or harm of herbal medication use during pregnancy.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Prevalence, knowledge and attitudes toward herbal medication use by Saudi women in the central region during pregnancy, during labor and after delivery

Al-Ghamdi

Aldossari

Al-Zahrani

et al. 2017

BMC Complement Altern Med

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“…Noncompliance to medications and treatment plans is not uncommon among pregnant women which might be gauged by concerns related to fetus health 11 . However, herbal or complementary medicine tends to be more accepted as they are perceived to be a safer option although they might be not 12 . Hence, this systematic review aims at investigating the efficacy of ginger in relieving NVP.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Efficacy of Ginger for Pregnancy-Induced Nausea and Vomiting: A Systematic Review

AlHajri

AlFalasi

Abdelrahim

et al. 2017

Journal of Natural Remedies

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The development of Nausea and Vomiting in Pregnancy (NVP) is rife, affecting approximately 80% of pregnant females, where only 1% of these might progress to develop a severe form of NVP known as hyperemesis gravidarum [1][2][3] . NVP is commonly seen between the 5 th and the 18 th weeks of gestation, and affect the overall well-being of patients 4 . Importantly, the severity of the NVP varies among pregnants, and consequently, the management will vary as well. Although there are plenty of etiologies and pathophysiological theories underpinning NVP, it is still considered to be an area of controversy 5. The importance of addressing NVP lies behind the possibility of developing dehydration, affecting the pregnancy, affecting the quality of life, productivity, and might lead to depression 6 . Treatment modalities incorporate identifying trigger factors and avoiding them, utilizing pharmacological and complementary agents and supportive therapy 7-9 .Ginger (Zingiber officinale), which is a common ingredient in Asian meals, started gaining momentum as a treatment modality for NVP 10 . Noncompliance to medications and treatment plans is not uncommon among pregnant women which might be gauged by concerns related to fetus health 11 . However, herbal or complementary medicine tends to be more accepted as they are perceived to be a safer option although they might be not 12 . Hence, this systematic review aims at investigating the efficacy of ginger in relieving NVP. Although investigating the safety of this ingredient is imperative, the majority of studies included in this systematic review were conducted for a very short period (e.g. four days), and used different doses and dosage forms, therefore rendered this objective unachievable. AbstractNausea and Vomiting (N/V) are unpalatable manifestations seen commonly during pregnancy, which impinge upon the overall well-being, the productivity and might result in hospitalization. There is growing evidence concerning the efficacy of ginger in alleviating Nausea and Vomiting in Pregnancy (NVP). Therefore, we sought to conduct a systematic review to explore the effectiveness of ginger for NVP. A comprehensive search was conducted in Google Scholar, PubMed, and Science Direct which resulted in identifying five studies. These studies showed that ginger can improve NVP in a statistically significant manner (P< 0.05). Assessing the safety profile of this agent was difficult due to the short duration of intervention, and inconsistency in the dose and dosage form of ginger used. This study helped to glean evidence about the efficacy of ginger in NVP. It also emphasized the need for conducting more studies with a better quality and that are using standardized dose and dosage forms to be able to conduct a meta-analysis.

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“…Pregnant women should also be educated to increase their awareness regarding the effects of herbal/traditional medications and the importance of taking guidance from their healthcare provider/expert. 30 Volatile oil containing drugs can be abortifacient, irritant to genitourinary tract (can cause uterine contractions) example, Artimisia absinthium (thujone), Apium graveolans, Anemone pulsatilla Eucalyptus globulas (cineol) Juniperous communis (alpha & beta Pinene). Some other constituents also got uteroactivity, pyrrolizidine alkaloids can cause hepatotoxicity in a new born it is present in borage officinalis and other species, some are toxic drugs podophyllin is a mitotic poison in podophyllum hexandrum.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Use of Traditional Drugs in Pregnant and Nursing Mothers: A Review of Associated Adverse Drug Reactions

Hamiduddin¹,

Aslam²,

Sofi³

et al. 2016

J. Pharm. Sci. Innov.

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The condition of carrying a developing embryo in the uterus and breast feeding of baby by mothers requires special precautions in term of intake of medicines. Usage of traditional drugs also requires some vigilance in respects of its adverse drugs reactions. The particular dangers of these preparations come rather from the belief that they are natural and therefore necessarily safe in pregnancy. Since last few decades' tremendous research work has been done of the various aspect of medicinal plants on pharmacognostic and chemical aspect, but aspect of safety and toxicity particularly, in pregnancy and lactation, is the most neglected area. These medicines are considering safer then allopathic drugs, but several plant species are proven be toxic in these conditions. For example, volatile oil containing drugs can be abortifacient, Irritant to genitourinary tract (can cause uterine contractions). Some constituents also have got action on uterus. Pyrrolizidine alkaloids can cause Hepatotoxicity in a new born. Some are strong diuretic and laxative (can cause water / salt lose), hormonally active, mutagenic, ginotoxic, teratogenic, etc. So these drugs are better avoided during pregnancy and lactations. An attempt can be made to identify herbal / traditional ingredients that have potential toxic effect on pregnancy and lactating women and also about their potential interfere with specific categories of conventional drugs based on their phytochemical, pharmacological properties and many documented side effects and also due to adulteration by heavy metals & microbial contaminations in relevance with classical Unani & Ayurvedic / traditional literature. Details of these drugs will be discussed in the present work.

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

Cited by 146 publications

References 28 publications

Prevalence, knowledge and attitudes toward herbal medication use by Saudi women in the central region during pregnancy, during labor and after delivery

Prevalence, knowledge and attitudes toward herbal medication use by Saudi women in the central region during pregnancy, during labor and after delivery

The Efficacy of Ginger for Pregnancy-Induced Nausea and Vomiting: A Systematic Review

Use of Traditional Drugs in Pregnant and Nursing Mothers: A Review of Associated Adverse Drug Reactions

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