Saudi People’s Knowledge and Attitudes about Herbals’ Side Effects and their Interactions with Medications

Introduction: The safety of herbal medicines is of particular importance because the majority of these products is self-prescribed and is used to treat minor and often chronic conditions. If not used with caution, some herbals may cause side effects and interactions with drugs.

Objective: To determine awareness, attitudes of Saudi people about side effects of herbs and herbal products, their interaction with medicines and to determine the common source of information about herbals.

Methodology: A cross-sectional study in the period from January to November 2023. on a random sample comprised of 530 Saudi persons living in different regions of Saudi Arabia using questionnaire in Arabic language. All data were analysed by descriptive statistics.

Results: Among the study participants, there were 147 (28%) have medium interest in herbals and 36 (7%) have large interest, 150 (28%) believes that herbals have no side effects, 121 (23%) believes that herbals can be taken instead of medications, 82 (16%) believes that herbals have the same efficacy as medications, 103 (19%) take herbals with medications, 172 (32%) think that taking herbals with prescription medications may give better effect than taking each one separately, 78 (15%) don't know that taking medication with herbals can cause side effects, 87 (16%) don't know that herbals can interact with medications, only 73 (14%) reported that they told the doctor or pharmacist about taking herbals with medications. Laxative/constipation and carminative effect (19%), relieving pain (14%), cough and cold (13%), menstrual disturbances (8%) were the most conditions to be treated by herbal remedies among study participants. Only 12 (2%) had adverse effects from taking herbals. Anise (39%), Peppermint (37%), Ginger (21%), cinnamon (20%), cumin (19%), are among the commonly used herbs reported by participants. The source of information about herbals reported among participants were family and relatives (62%), media (12%).

Conclusion: Although herbals are widely used, knowledge of their potential adverse effects and interactions with drugs is limited. There’s a need to increase public awareness of the community about risks of medical herbs.