@article {2296, title = {Evaluation of Potential Toxicity Associated with Antidiabetic Herbs in Saudi Arabia}, journal = {Pharmacognosy Journal}, volume = {16}, year = {2024}, month = {June 2024}, pages = {576-581}, type = {Original Article}, chapter = {576}, abstract = {

Introduction: Diabetes mellitus is a serious, long-lasting disease that is characterized by high blood sugar levels, leading to more severe complications involving other organ systems of the body. Diabetes is becoming more common worldwide. Managing diabetes can be complicated, but many people, especially in Saudi Arabia, often use traditional herbal medicines to treat the condition. Our study concentrates on assessing the safety of commonly used antidiabetic herbs in Saudi Arabia by examining their potential toxicity. Method: Using keywords and their variations, we conducted a systematic search of the PubMed and Google Scholar databases to find studies on treatments based on antidiabetic herbs and their toxic effects from 2014 to 2024. Result: Our study revealed that the use of medicinal plants for treating and managing diabetes along with its complications is becoming popular around the globe. These medicinal plants are also being used as primary sources of developing modern pharmaceutical antidiabetic drugs. Phytotherapy is safe to treat diabetes as herbal bioactive components act through many biological pathways. They may inhibit α-glucosidase enzyme, enhance GLUT-4 translocation, and also improve lipid profile. Conclusion: The use of natural plants having medicinal properties is popular for the treatment of diabetes. Claims of their usefulness by traditional healers are being supported by scientific evidence also. To determine the right dosage of these medicinal herbs, cytotoxicity tests or short-term experiments are done to establish doses of plants used in vitro and in vivo. Toxicity concerns are a primary reason why healthcare professionals hesitate to incorporate herbal products into the healthcare system. That{\textquoteright}s why it is necessary to screen such plants for their toxicity to differentiate pharmacological efficacy from adverse effects.\ 

}, keywords = {Antidiabetic, Diabetes, Herbal medicines, KSA, Medicinal herbs, Phytotherapy, Plant extracts, Saudi Arabia, Toxicity, Traditional}, doi = {10.5530/pj.2024.16.90}, author = {Inbaraj Susai Domnic and Prasanna Mohanabhaskaran and Imran Zaheer and Semmal Syed Meerasa and Ramaprabha Prabhakar} } @article {935, title = {Medicinal Plants in Basic Care: A Study of Clinical Practice}, journal = {Pharmacognosy Journal}, volume = {11}, year = {2019}, month = {July 2019}, pages = {796-802}, type = {Original Article}, chapter = {796}, abstract = {

According to World Health Organization, 80\% of world population uses traditional practices for primary health care, and 85\% of this shares the use of medicinal plants or plants-based preparations. Thus, the present work had as objective to investigate the profile of herbal medicine use as well as the conditions to the alive pharmacy implementation in four basic health units in the city of Aracaju, Sergipe, Brazil. For such, 84 family health professionals were interviewed about the use of medicinal plants. Concerning the indication of medicinal plants, 41.67\% of the health staff prescribes medicinal plants, 55.95\% reported never having prescribed medicinal plants and 2.4\% abstained from responding. Despite the intention to use phytotherapy as a therapeutic practice, this practice is not yet fully inserted in the analyzed units due to factors such as lack of training and specific protocols to assist professionals in the use of medicinal plants and phytotherapics.

}, keywords = {Brazilian Unified Health System, Healthcare Unit, Phytotherapy, Traditional and Complementary Medicine}, doi = {10.5530/pj.2019.11.127}, author = {Carlos A.S. Souza and Wesley M.G. Andrade and Tha{\'\i}s S. Ramos and Alex J. S. Filho and Anderson L. Freitas and Tamires C. Lima and {\^A}ngelo R. Antoniolli and Wellington B. Silva and Francilene A. Silva} }