Herbals & Supplements Flashcards
Purported use of ginkgo, evidence, and alternatives.
Improve memory.
Some improvement in clinical trials for Alzheimer’s but not shown in large double-blind trial.
Donepezil.
Purported use of St. John’s Wort, evidence, and alternatives.
Antidepressant.
No better than placebo.
SSRIs, tricyclics, MAOIs.
Purported use of ginseng, evidence, and alternatives.
“Adaptogen” and general cure-all.
No compelling data, no specific alternatives.
Purported use of black cohosh, evidence, and alternatives.
Relief from sx of menopause and PMS.
Small studies showed this but larger double-blind trial did not.
Estrogen therapy.
Purported use of glucosamine, evidence, and alternatives.
Improve pain and swelling in osteoarthritis.
Possibly effective, needs a larger study of the subgroup of pts w/ mod-severe pain.
NSAIDs.
Purport use of fish oil (omega 3), evidence, and alternatives.
Hyperlipidemia, high BP, CV dz prevention, macular degeneration, ADD, etc.
Evidence supports decrease in triglycerides and BP.
FDA approved for lowering triglycerides, may combine w/ statin
Adverse effects of St. John’s Wort.
Photosensitivyt, drug interactions (SSRIs, MAOIs), decreased level of other drugs (HIV protease inhibitors, OCPs, anti-leukemia drug Imatinib)
Adverse effects of ginseng.
CNS excitation, abnormal menstruation, hypoglycemia, and interference w/ digoxin assays
Adverse effects of black cohosh.
Serious liver toxicity (though rare) has been reported, don’t use if liver dz is present!
Adverse effects of fish oil (omega 3).
May increase LDL (hence why you may need to combine with a statin)
Purported use of garlic, evidence, and alternatives.
Hypolipidemic, also used to lower BP, reduce platelet aggreation, and antimicrobial.
Some evidence of modest cholesterol reduction.
Statins, bile-acid sequesterants.
