Assessment of pharmacy students’ knowledge, attitude, and practice toward herbal dietary supplements

Abstract

Objective: Although there has been an expanded use of herbal supplements worldwide, data concerning their consumption patterns and knowledge are limited. Consequently, the present study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice of Lebanese pharmacy students toward herbal dietary supplements. Participants and methods: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted by administering a 23-items’ survey to a convenient sample of pharmacy students. Results: Out of 355 pharmacy students assessed, 168 were using at least one dietary supplement, mainly to treat health problems. Their primary source of information was the Internet. Health benefits of Ginkgo Biloba were known by 63% while that of Glucosamine by 12%. Similarly, side effects of Ginkgo Biloba were recognized by 62% while that of St. John’s Wort by only 2%. Conclusion: Despite the comprehensive coverage of herbal supplements in the pharmacy curriculum, some were weakly known namely; Glucosamine and St. John’s Wort. Consequently, emphasis should be done to fill the gap.

Keywords:

• Attitude
• dietary supplements
• knowledge
• pharmacy students

Conflict of interest disclosure

The authors have no conflicts of interest to report. The authors confirm that the research presented in this article met the ethical guidelines, including adherence to the legal requirements, of Lebanon and received an exemption from the Institution review board of the Beirut Arab University.

Funding

No funding was used to support this research and/or the preparation of the manuscript.