Herbal Medicine Use among Adult Lebanese Patients with Chronic Diseases: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study

Herbal products are used for the management of various chronic diseases. This study sought to determine the frequency of herbal medicines use among Lebanese patients diagnosed with chronic diseases, their patterns, underlying causes and perceived efficacy.

This is a descriptive cross-sectional study that enrolled Lebanese adult patients from the six governorates of Lebanon between February and December 2020. Those who had hypertension, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, chronic constipation, or rheumatoid arthritis were eligible for enrollment.

A total of 300 patients participated in this study. Around 123 participants (41%) reported using herbs. The majority purchased the herbs based on a suggestion (47.2%) from a friend or a family member. The most commonly used herbs were Pimpinella anisum, and Garlic (15.8%) for hypertension, Sage (26.9%) and Stevia (23.1%) for diabetes mellitus, Red Yeast Rice (27%) and Hawthorn (23%) for dyslipidemia, and Senna (43.6%) and Artichoke (25.8%) for chronic constipation, and Curcumin (46.2%) and Allium sativum (30.8%) for rheumatoid arthritis. The majority did not have an idea about the side effects (87.8%), drug-herbal interactions (95.1%), or drug-disease interactions (96.8%) of herbs. Most of the patients (65%) were satisfied with the herbal product use.

The use of herbal medicines is common among adult Lebanese patients diagnosed with hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, arthritis, and constipation. However, herbal products are not risk-free. Hence, further research in this area is warranted.