title: Community pharmacists' knowledge, attitudes and practices towards herbal remedies in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
abstract: There is an increasing trend towards consumption of complementary and alternative herbal products in many parts of the world. A cross-sectional sample of 115 community pharmacists in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia was visited and information on knowledge, attitudes and practices towards herbal remedies was collected using a structured questionnaire. All pharmacists acknowledged dispensing herbal products through their pharmacies. Ginseng was the most widely used product (47%), followed by ginkgo (23%), valerian (17%) and S.t John's wort (3.5%). In general, pharmacists had poor awareness about potential herb-drug interactions. While 56% of participating pharmacists expressed concerns about the safety of herbal remedies, 30% considered them to be harmless. Community pharmacists need to be better informed about herbal products.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. alkharfy@ksu.edu.sa
authors.forename: K M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Alkharfy
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002983:Clinical Competence; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D041743:Herb-Drug Interactions; D029001:Herbal Medicine / Q000193:education / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008514:Medicine, Arabic; D009042:Motivation; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010594:Pharmacies / Q000458:organization & administration; D010595:Pharmacists / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000523:psychology*; D012449:Safety; D012529:Saudi Arabia; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014504:Urban Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data