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. 2023 Aug 9;20(16):6551.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph20166551.

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

Inga Sile  1   2 , Renate Teterovska  3   4 , Oskars Onzevs  5 , Elita Ardava  4
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Safety Concerns Related to the Simultaneous Use of Prescription or Over-the-Counter Medications and Herbal Medicinal Products: Survey Results among Latvian Citizens

Inga Sile et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

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.

Keywords: adverse drug effects; consumer attitude; herbal medicines; herb–drug interactions; pharmacy.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Recommendation sources for the use of herbal medicines purchased by respondents (%).
Figure 2
Figure 2
The most frequently mentioned plants by respondents.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Respondents using herbal medicine by age group.
Figure 4
Figure 4
The number of substances used (prescription and over-the-counter drugs) by age median. The blue line represents young people aged 18 to 39 years, while the orange line represents older patients.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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Grants and funding

This work was supported by the RSU Red Cross Medical College scientific research project “The use of medicines, nutritional supplements and herbal preparations in Latvia and the associated risks to the patient’s health” (Nr. 2-30/2019/069).