The Use and Potential Interactions of Herbal Medicines among Diabetic Patients in Saudi Arabia: A Cross-sectional Study

Objectives: The use of herbal medicines as non-conventional treatment is popular, especially in developing countries where people suffering from chronic diseases as diabetes mellitus are more likely to use herbal medicines along with conventional medicines. However, their simultaneous use may concur serious drug interactions and may therefore result in a serious outcome. The present study was designed to identify the most commonly used herbal medicines and conventional anti-diabetic medications among Saudi population.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was developed and piloted.Data were retrieved and manually entered in Excel 2016. Frequencies and percentages were utilized to perform descriptive analysis. The study was approved by the Scientific and Research Committee of the main hospital taking part in the study.

Results: A total of 347 responses were recorded (69.4% response rate). 54% of participants were male, 53% were between the age of 41 and 64 years, and 35.5% had no formal education. Black tea, Peppermint, ginger, green tea, olive oil, and black seed were among the frequently mentioned herbal medicines. Black tea was used by the majority of patients (80%) while peppermint and ginger were used by more than half of patients, i.e., (56.5%) and (52.7%) respectively. Least common herb used by patients was Artemisia species (2.8%). A majority of patients (53.4%) used traditional medicine at least once daily, and 83% used traditional medicine without their physician's prescription.

Conclusion: Concomitant use of herbal and conventional anti-diabetic medication was a common practice among patients in Saudi Arabia, therefore, pharmacists-led educational programs should target both prescribers and general public about the possible interactions/risks of herbal medicines.