Awodele Olufunsho, Olayemi Sunday O, Adeyemo Titilope A, Sanya Temitayo A, Dolapo Duro C
Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Nigeria.
Curr Drug Saf. 2012 Apr;7(2):120-5. doi: 10.2174/157488612802715627.
Traditional herbal remedies have been used to treat many ailments in Nigeria but the safety of herbal remedies has been the major concerns to many people especially when the chemical constituents of the products are not known. This study is therefore designed to evaluate the prevalence of use of complementary drugs with antiretroviral (ARV) therapy and possible treatment outcome of the concurrent utilization of these therapeutic agents. A descriptive cross-sectional survey of 354 HIV patients attending APIN clinics in LUTH using a consecutive sampling technique was used. There was also correlation of the data obtained from the patients with their clinical case notes. Results showed that only 8.2 % of the respondents' used herbal medicine concurrently with ARV therapy. Ninety percent of the participants were on a two nucleoside and one non-nucleoside based ARV therapy. The most common regimen (55%) was Zidovudine/lamivudine/Nevirapine fixed dose combination while 10% use a protease inhibitor based regimen. The commonly herbal drugs used ranges from Jobelyn [Sorghum bicolor plant leaves (13.8%)], Garlic [Allicin, γ-glutamyl- (s)-ally-L-Cysteine] (10.3%), Ginger [Essential oil] (17.2%) and Aloe vera [Hydroxyanthracene derivatives expressed as Barbaloin] (10.3%). The major reason for the commencement of herbal medicine is the perception that the medicine will boost their immunity (65.5%). However, there was a marginal improvement though not significant (p ≥ 0.05) in the CD4 counts (489.8 ± 195.2; 419.1 ± 236.2) and viral load (5117.8 ± 26092.0; 31136.7 ± 197954.6) of HIV patients on herbal drugs compared to those who are not on herbal drugs. Herbal medicines have potentials to interact with ARVs and thus result in adverse reactions and possibly therapeutic failure. There is need for thorough investigation of the pharmacological action of these herbal medicines in HIV treatment taking into consideration their pharmacokinetic and toxicological profile.
在尼日利亚，传统草药疗法被用于治疗多种疾病，但草药疗法的安全性一直是许多人主要关注的问题，尤其是当产品的化学成分不明时。因此，本研究旨在评估抗逆转录病毒（ARV）治疗中辅助药物的使用情况以及这些治疗药物同时使用可能产生的治疗效果。采用连续抽样技术，对在拉各斯大学教学医院（LUTH）的APIN诊所就诊的354名HIV患者进行了描述性横断面调查。还将从患者那里获得的数据与他们的临床病例记录进行了关联。结果显示，只有8.2%的受访者在接受ARV治疗的同时使用草药。90%的参与者接受基于两种核苷和一种非核苷的ARV治疗。最常见的治疗方案（55%）是齐多夫定/拉米夫定/奈韦拉平固定剂量组合，而10%的人使用基于蛋白酶抑制剂的治疗方案。常用的草药包括乔贝林[高粱双色植物叶（13.8%）]、大蒜[蒜素、γ-谷氨酰-（s）-烯丙基-L-半胱氨酸]（10.3%）、生姜[精油]（17.2%）和芦荟[以芦荟苷表示的羟基蒽衍生物]（10.3%）。开始使用草药的主要原因是认为草药能增强免疫力（65.5%）。然而，与未使用草药的HIV患者相比，使用草药的患者的CD4细胞计数（489.8±195.2；419.1±236.2）和病毒载量（5117.8±26092.0；31136.7±197954.6）虽有轻微改善，但不显著（p≥0.05）。草药有与抗逆转录病毒药物相互作用的可能性，从而导致不良反应并可能导致治疗失败。有必要全面研究这些草药在HIV治疗中的药理作用，并考虑其药代动力学和毒理学特征。
