Safety Concerns Related to the Simultaneous Use of Prescription or Over-the-Counter Medications and Herbal Medicinal Products: Survey Results among Latvian Citizens

Abstract

The use of herbal medicines is increasing worldwide. While the safety profile of many herbal medicines is promising, the data in the literature show important interactions with conventional drugs that can expose individual patients to high risk. The aim of this study was to investigate the experience of the use of herbal medicines and preparations and the risks of interactions between herbal and conventional medicines among Latvian citizens. Data were collected between 2019 and 2021 using a structured questionnaire designed for pharmacy customers in Latvia. Electronic databases such as Drugs.com, Medscape, and European Union herbal monographs were reviewed for the risk of drug interactions and potential side effects when herbal medicines were involved. The survey included 504 respondents. Of all the participants, 77.8% used herbal preparations. Most of the participants interviewed used herbal remedies based on the recommendation of the pharmacist or their own initiative. A total of 38.3% found the use of herbal remedies safe and harmless, while 57.3% of respondents regarded the combination of herbal and regular drugs as unsafe. The identified herbal medicines implicated in the potential risk of serious interactions were grapefruit, St. John’s wort, and valerian. As the risks of herb–drug interactions were identified among the respondents, in the future, both pharmacy customers and healthcare specialists should pay more attention to possible herb–drug interactions of over-the-counter and prescription medications.

Interaction of Garcinia cambogia (Gaertn.) Desr. and Drugs as a Possible Mechanism of Liver Injury: The Case of Montelukast

“…However, plants contain several phytochemicals, each of which can interfere with prescribed medications, thus causing potentially harmful side effects or leading to the loss of or decreased therapeutic benefits of the drugs. This issue is of particular relevance for patients affected by chronic disease and for the elderly population who are also taking multiple prescription medications to manage their concurrent conditions [ 51 ]. Therefore, considering the widespread use of botanicals in modern society, it is crucial to identify potential herb–drug interactions in order to minimize the associated risks and ensure public health.…”