head JofIMAB
Journal of IMAB - Annual Proceeding (Scientific Papers)
Publisher: Peytchinski Publishing Ltd.
ISSN: 1312-773X (Online)
Issue: 2020, vol. 26, issue3
Subject Area: Medicine
-
DOI: 10.5272/jimab.2020263.3278
Published online: 10 August 2020

Original articles

J of IMAB. 2020 Jul-Sep;26(3):3278-3284
CONSUMERS' ATTITUDES TOWARDS THE USE OF HERBAL MEDICINES AND HERBAL SUPPLEMENTS IN NORTHEASTERN BULGARIA
Nadya Agova1ORCID logo, Galina Petrova2ORCID logo Corresponding Autoremail, Svetlana Georgieva1ORCID logo, Ivo Kumanov2ORCID logo,
1) Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Medical University Varna, Bulgaria.
2) Department of Organization and Economics of Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Medical University Varna, Bulgaria.

ABSTRACT:
The global use of herbal medicinal products over the past decade has led to the marketing of a large number of herbal medicines and herbal supplements. Although some herbal medicines have promising potential and are widely used, many of them remain untested, and their use also not monitored. The purpose of our study is to investigate the attitudes of consumers in Northeastern Bulgaria to the use of herbal medicines and herbal supplements. The article uses a sociological method for data collection, and descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data and process the results. The study involved 170 users living in Northeastern Bulgaria. Respondents are unevenly rationеd by gender, with women prevailing - 70.60%, men - 29.40%. In terms of age, the rationing is as follows: The largest share of the age group 18-30 years, followed by the age group 41-50 years, and 31-40 years. The respondents are mostly with higher education - 70.40%, with secondary education are 23.90% and only 5.80% have secondary special education. Consumers most often buy herbal medicines and supplements to solve health problems related to weak immunity, viral diseases, gastrointestinal problems, insomnia and others. The doctor's and the pharmacist's recommendations have a significant influence on the choice of herbal medicines and food supplements. The positive attitude of the respondents towards them is due to the lack of data on side effects and the benefits they receive. In order to achieve the rational use of herbal medicines and herbal dietary supplements, a better understanding of the impact of food supplements on patients must be a key priority.

Keywords: consumers' attitudes, use, herbal medicines, herbal supplements,

pdf - Download FULL TEXT /PDF 2854 KB/
Please cite this article as: Agova N, Petrova G, Georgieva S, Kumanov I. Consumers' Attitudes Towards the Use of Herbal Medicines and Herbal Supplements in Northeastern Bulgaria. J of IMAB. 2020 Jul-Sep;26(3):3278-3284. DOI: 10.5272/jimab.2020263.3278

Corresponding AutorCorrespondence to: Galina Petrova, Medical University “Prof. Dr. Paraskev Stoyanov” Varna, Bulgaria; 55, Marin Drinov Str., 9002 Varna, Bulgaria; E-mail: galina.petrova@mu-varna.bg

REFERENCES:
1. Petkova-Gueorguieva ES, Getov  IN, Ivanov KV, Ivanova SD, Gueorguiev SR, Getova VI, et al. Regulatory Requirements for Food Supplements in the European Union and Bulgaria. Folia Med (Plovdiv). 2019 Mar 1;61(1):41-48. [PubMed] [Crossref]
2. Smith T, Kawa K, Eckl V, Morton C, Stredney R. Herbal Supplement Sales in US Increased 8.5% in 2017, Topping $8 Billion. Herbal Gram. 2018; 119:62-71. [Internet]
3. European  Food  Safety  Authority.  Compendium  of  botanicals  reported  to  contain  naturally  occuring substances  of  possible  concern  for  human  health  when  used  in  food  and  food  supplements.  EFSA  Journal.  2012; 10(5):2663. [Crossref]
4. Asher GN, Corbett AH, Hawke RL. Common Herbal Dietary Supplement-Drug Interactions. Am Fam Physician. 2017 Jul 15;96(2):101–107. [PubMed]
5. Zhang J, Wider B, Shang H, Li X, Ernst E. Quality of Herbal Medicines: Challenges and Solutions. Complement Ther Med. 2012 Feb-Apr;20(1-2):100-6. [PubMed] [Crossref]
6. Goghlan ML, Haile J, Houston J, Murray DC, White NE, Moolhuijzen P, et al. Deep Sequencing of Plant and Animal DNA Contained Within Traditional Chinese Medicines Reveals Legality Issues and Health Safety Concerns.  PLoS Genet. 2012; 8(4):e1002657. [PubMed] [Crossref].

Received: 02 August 2019
Published online: 10 August 2020

back to Online Journal