title: Efficacy and safety of medicinal plants or related natural products for fibromyalgia: a systematic review.
abstract: To assess the effects of medicinal plants (MPs) or related natural products (RNPs) on fibromyalgia (FM) patients, we evaluate the possible benefits and advantages of MP or RNP for the treatment of FM based on eight randomized placebo-controlled trials (RCTs) involving 475 patients. The methodological quality of all studies included was determined according to JADAD and "Risk of Bias" with the criteria in the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions 5.1.0. Evidence suggests significant benefits of MP or RNP in sleep disruption, pain, depression, joint stiffness, anxiety, physical function, and quality of life. Our results demonstrated that MP or RNP had significant effects on improving the symptoms of FM compared to conventional drug or placebo; longer tests are required to determine the duration of the treatment and characterize the long-term safety of using MP, thus suggesting effective alternative therapies in the treatment of pain with minimized side effects.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Federal University of Sergipe, Marechal Rondom Avenue, 49000-100 São Cristovão, SE, Brazil.
authors.forename: Simone
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: de Souza Nascimento
authors.forename: Josimari Melo
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Desantana
authors.forename: Fernando Kenji
authors.initials: FK
authors.lastname: Nampo
authors.forename: Eurica Adélia Nogueira
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Ribeiro
authors.forename: Daniel Lira
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: da Silva
authors.forename: João Xavier
authors.initials: JX
authors.lastname: Araújo-Júnior
authors.forename: Jackson Roberto Guedes
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: da Silva Almeida
authors.forename: Leonardo Rigoldi
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Bonjardim
authors.forename: Adriano Antunes
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: de Souza Araújo
authors.forename: Lucindo José
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Quintans-Júnior