Evaluation of the Four Most-used Alternative Medicine Databases to Answer Common Herbal Information Questions

ABSTRACT

Selecting the right tool to answer herbal product questions is essential for medical and information professionals. This study's objective was to compare and evaluate the four most-used alternative medicine databases in terms of adverse reactions, therapeutic use, interactions, and dosage of specific herbal products. MICROMEDEX (AltMedDex and POISINDEX), The Review of Natural Products (eFacts), Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database, and Natural Standard were compared for their completeness in answering patient questions related to garlic, Echinacea, saw palmetto, ginkgo, and cranberry. The results of this study will be helpful in making better database usage or purchasing decisions by librarians, pharmacists, and other medical professionals.

Keywords:

• Alternative medicine databases
• AltMedDex
• database comparisons
• drug information centers
• eFacts
• herbal databases
• MICROMEDEX
• Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database
• Natural Standard
• POISINDEX
• The Review of Natural Products

The authors would like to express their gratitude to Dr. Maria Kostka-Rokozs and Dr. Lana Dvorkin-Camiel for providing valuable input on drug and herbal information questions.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Mariana Lapidus

Mariana Lapidus, MSLIS ([email protected]) is Assistant Professor of Library and Learning Resources and Reference Librarian, Henrietta DeBenedictus Health Sciences Library, Massachusetts College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences, 179 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115-5896. She is the liaison to the PharmD program at her institution and is a member of MLA.

Irena Bond

Irena Bond, MSLIS ([email protected]) is Assistant Professor of Library and Learning Resources and Campus Librarian, Blais Family Library, Massachusetts College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences, 19 Foster Street, Worcester, MA 01608-1715. She is the liaison to PharmD and Nursing programs at her campus.