Consumption of Medicinal Plants among Patients with Diabetes in  Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office Countries: A Systematic  Review and Meta-Analysis

Mojtaba Fattahi Ardakani; Nasim Namiranian; Mohammad Afkhami Ardekani; Moradali Zareipour; Ali Asadian; Sara Heydari

doi:10.18502/jnfs.v9i1.14846

Mojtaba Fattahi Ardakani Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran;
Nasim Namiranian Yazd Diabetes Research Center, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran
Mohammad Afkhami Ardekani Yazd Diabetes Research Center, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran
Moradali Zareipour Department of Public Health, School of Health, Khoy University of Medical Sciences, Khoy, Iran
Ali Asadian Social Determinants in Health Promotion Research Center, Hormozgan Health Institute, Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences, Bandar Abbas, Iran
Sara Heydari Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/jnfs.v9i1.14846

Keywords: Systematic review; Diabetes mellitus; Complementary therapies; Plants; Medicinal

Abstract

Background: Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease which affects all aspects of human life. Medical herbs have become increasingly popular as complementary therapeutic measures for patients with diabetes. Thus, the present research aims to explore the consumption of medical herbs in patients with diabetes in Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office (EMRO) countries through a meta-analysis. Methods: The following keywords were searched: medicine, medicinal plants, healing plants, medicinal herbs, use, usage, frequency of use, prevalence, diabetes patients, type 2 diabetes, adults with diabetes, and EMRO countries. The databases searched included Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. Results: A total of 3,542 papers were found. After omitting repeated or irrelevant papers, 70 papers were retained. An analysis of the abstract and full text of papers led to the retention of 35 papers. A great variance was found regarding the rate of consuming medical herbs in the papers (16.8-97.7%). The relative frequency of consuming medical herbs was 38% (95% CI: 33-44). Moreover, the most prevalent herbs were fenugreek (19%), cinnamon (18%), black seed (14%), white lupinus (13%), and olive (13%) with a 95% confidence interval. About 70% of patients (95%CI: 62-79) did not inform their physician of their herbal medicine consumption. Conclusion: In light of the present findings, it can be concluded that patients with diabetes use a wide range of medical herbs. Thus, health specialists and physicians need to be aware of the possible synergic or moderating effect of herbal medicine on the therapeutic measures taken for diabetes.