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 (), Renate Teterovska, Oskars Onzevs and Elita Ardava
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Inga Sile: Department of Applied Pharmacy, Riga Stradins University, 16 Dzirciema Street, LV-1007 Riga, Latvia
Renate Teterovska: Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Riga Stradins University, 16 Dzirciema Street, LV-1007 Riga, Latvia
Oskars Onzevs: Department of Commerce, Turība University, 68 Graudu Street, LV-1058 Riga, Latvia
Elita Ardava: Department of Pharmacy, Riga Stradins University Red Cross Medical College, 5 J. Asara Street, LV-1009 Riga, Latvia

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 16, 1-17

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; herb–drug interactions; herbal medicines; pharmacy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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