Natural Medicines for Psychotic Disorders

Abstract

Patients with psychotic disorders regularly use natural medicines, although it is unclear whether these are effective and safe. The aim of this study was to provide an overview of evidence for improved outcomes by natural medicines. A systematic literature search was performed through Medline, PsycINFO, CINAHL, and Cochrane until May 2015. In 110 randomized controlled trials, evidence was found for glycine, sarcosine, N-acetylcysteine, some Chinese and ayurvedic herbs, ginkgo biloba, estradiol, and vitamin B6 to improve psychotic symptoms when added to antipsychotics. Ginkgo biloba and vitamin B6 seemed to reduce tardive dyskinesia and akathisia. Results on other compounds were negative or inconclusive. All natural agents, except reserpine, were well tolerated. Most study samples were small, study periods were generally short, and most results need replication. However, there is some evidence for beneficial effects of certain natural medicines.

Novel applications of mass spectrometry‐based metabolomics in herbal medicines and its active ingredients: Current evidence

“…Natural medicines are widely employed in the prevention and treatment of various diseases (Boozari & Hosseinzadeh, 2017;Hoenders et al, 2018;Li et al, 2018). MS is considered to be the most helpful tool to bridge the gap between herbal medicines and modern molecular biology.…”

Opportunities in Novel Psychotropic Drug Design from Natural Compounds

“…As discussed above, it is possible that modern classifications of mental disorders only happened in the last century. Discovery of useful antipsychotic molecules in TM will require more laboratory work and, more importantly, good-quality randomized controlled clinical trials (Rathbone et al, 2005; Deng and Xu, 2017; Hoenders et al, 2018).…”

Potential Novel Therapies for Neurodevelopmental Diseases Targeting Oxidative Stress

“…One study conducted on 7 Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity [97], whereas another study using a double dose illustrated significant improvement in terms of ADHD symptoms and brain electrical activity [98]. Ginkgo biloba administered to schizophrenia patients has illustrated significant improvement in terms of positive symptoms, general psychopathology, and adverse effects of antipsychotics; however, no significant effect on negative symptoms has been noted [99].…”