Prevalence of herbal medicines in patients with chronic allergic disorders in Western Saudi Arabia.

To assess the prevalence and pattern of the use of herbal medicines by allergic patients in Western Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Methods: Cross-sectional study design was used to collect data from consecutively recruited patients with chronic allergic disorders from July 2018 to  October 2018. Participants from 2 allergy clinics in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia were interviewed face-to-face using a structured questionnaire. Results: One hundred and two patients with allergy were interviewed. Their average age was 34±18 and 72.5% were female. The most common primary diagnoses were allergic rhinitis (24.5%), atopic dermatitis (19.6%), and bronchial asthma (16.7%). Herbal medicines were used by 60% of participants, including: Nigella sativa (19.6%), Pimpinella anisum (12.7%), Boswellia sacra (11.8%), Zingiber officinale (10.8%), Foeniculum vulgare (9.8%), Psidium guajava (9.8%), Olea europaea (8.8%), Thymus vulgaris (5.9%), Matricaria chamomilla (4.9%), Mentha piperita (4.9%), Syzygium aromaticum (4.9%), and others. Of those, 63% reported subjective improvement in symptoms. A significant association was found between asthma and herbal medicines intake (p=0.001). Conclusion: Despite the insufficient evidence, there was a high prevalence of herbal medicines used by allergic patients (more than half), especially in bronchial asthma. Black seed, anise and olibanum were the most commonly used.