Assessment of Knowledge and Perception of Pharmacy Students Regarding Herbal Drugs: a Cross-Sectional Analysis from Pakistan

ABSTRACT

Herbal drug therapy is a beneficial and easily accessible modality of treatment.Pharmacist can play a pivotal role in rationalizing its use. This study was aimed to assess the knowledge and perception ofpharmacy students regarding herbal drugs.We conducted a cross-sectional survey using avalidated study instrument. The survey included pharmacy students from various universities across Pakistan.There were 342 (54.3%) 4th yearand 288 (45.7%) 5th year students. We found statistically significant variations (p < 0.05) in the knowledge of male and female respondentsregarding;'the carminative use of Hyoscyamus niger' and 'effectiveness of Citrus aurantifolia in vomiting and chest burning'. Similarly, significant variations were found in perception of students regarding the 'inclusion of herbal drugs in every medical degree course', 'evidence-based herbal drugs use', and 'necessity of specific portion of herbal drugs in every pharmacy'. More than 40% of students agreed that it was fine to use Senna alexandrina during COVID-19 pandemic-era without evidence-based studies.The knowledge of pharmacy students about herbal drugs is not satisfactory and evidence-based drug use is to be improved to enhance their skills in the rational therapy of herbal drugs, which will be fruitful in managing the community's disease conditions. Copyright © 2022, Colegio de Farmaceuticos de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. All rights reserved.