Kosisochi Chinwendu Amorha1 
,
Ifeoma Amarachukwu Nwabunike2,
Basil Moses Okwumuo2,
Ebere Emilia Ayogu1,
Sunday Odunke Nduka3,
Mathew Jegbefume Okonta1
For correspondence:- Kosisochi Amorha Email: kosisochi.amorha@unn.edu.ng Tel:+2348038539349
Accepted: 28 April 2018 Published: 31 October 2018
Citation: Amorha KC, Nwabunike IA, Okwumuo BM, Ayogu EE, Nduka SO, Okonta MJ. Use of herbal medicines in a Nigerian community and their reported adverse effects: A pilot study. Trop J Pharm Res 2018; 17(10):2067-2072 doi: 10.4314/tjpr.v17i10.25
© 2018 The authors.
This is an Open Access article that uses a funding model which does not charge readers or their institutions for access and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0) and the Budapest Open Access Initiative (http://www.budapestopenaccessinitiative.org/read), which permit unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited..
Purpose: To evaluate the use of herbal medicines in Nsukka community and determine the adverse reactions associated with this practice.
Methods: A cross-sectional survey of 120 persons was conducted in Ogige market, Nsukka using self-administered questionnaires. Outcomes measured included proportion of respondents who use herbal medicines and their reasons, their perception on the safety and effectiveness of the medicines, their purchasing habits of the medicines, those who recommend the medicines, and adverse reactions to them. Frequency analysis and Pearson’s correlation test were conducted with statistical significance set at p < 0.05.
Results: Less than half of the respondents (43.2%) took herbal medicines without consulting a health professional, and more than 60 % of them believed that herbal medicines are safe and effective. Only 47.4 % of the respondents claimed to have ever experienced mild adverse effects following the use of the medicines which were resolved with advice sought from health professionals. Stooling and vomiting were the major reported adverse effects. Older respondents had a better perception on the safety of herbal medicines (p = 0.005) and are less likely to tell their health professionals that they are already taking herbal medicines when orthodox medicines are prescribed/recommended for them. High-income earners spent more on herbal medicines (p = 0.029) than others.
Conclusion: Many respondents use herbal medicines without consulting a health professional. However, most of them seek advice from health professionals when adverse effects result from these medicines during use.
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