Herbal medicine use is widespread and has been reported to be as high as 21% in people with anxiety disorders. Critical thematic analysis was used to explore beliefs and attitudes towards herbal medicines in adults experiencing anxiety. In-depth interviews were conducted with eight adults who experienced anxiety and used herbal medicines. Three major themes were found: Herbal medicines being di...

OBJECTIVE To summarize and evaluate the efficacy and safety of herbal medicines used for the treatment of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in children. METHODS Thirteen electronic databases were searched from their inception to November 2016. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that assessed the efficacy of herbal medicines alone or in combination with other Traditional Chinese Medicine treatme...

OBJECTIVE Limitations in the conventional medical management of osteoarthritis indicate a real need for safe and effective treatment of osteoarthritis patients. Herbal medicines may provide a solution to this problem. The aim of this article was to review systematically all randomized controlled trials on the effectiveness of herbal medicines in the treatment of osteoarthritis. METHODS Comput...

Nature always stands as a golden mark to exemplify the outstanding phenomena of symbiosis. In the western world, as the people are becoming aware of the potency and side effect of synthetic drugs, there is an increasing interest in the natural product remedies with a basic approach towards the nature. Throughout the history of mankind, many infectious diseases have been treated with herbals. A ...

Purpose. Primary dysmenorrhea (PD) is a common gynecological complaint among adolescent girls and women of reproductive age. This study aims to review the findings of published articles on the in vitro and in vivo efficacy of herbal medicines for PD. Methods. In vitro and in vivo studies of herbal compounds, individual herbal extracts, or herbal formula decoctions published from their inception...

The use of herbal medicines in diabetes is promising but still far from proven. The purpose of this article is to examine the effect of herbal medicines in the treatment of diabetes, focusing on potential benefits and risks. Medline, expert interviews, books, articles and internet searches were used to identify herbal medicines with anti-diabetic properties and their diabetes-related health ef...

An increasing number of patients are taking herbal medicines such as echinacea, garlic, ginkgo biloba, ginseng, St John's Wort, valerian, ephedra, kava, grapefruit juice and ginger. Although these herbal medications are considered 'natural' products that may have some benefits, adverse effects such as increased bleeding tendencies and drug interactions are associated with their use. Surgeons an...

BACKGROUND It is unclear how safe the use of Chinese herbal medicine is during pregnancy and if the herbal medicines do any harm to pregnancy, embryo-fetal development and prenatal and post-natal growth. A large-scale preclinical study was conducted to detect the adverse effects of Chinese herbal medicines during pregnancy. METHODS Twenty of the most commonly used Chinese herbal medicines pre...