Expanded 6th grade summary:

This article talks about how herbal products can interact with prescription medicines used to treat mental health and brain conditions. Many people use herbal supplements along with their regular medications, but these herbal products can change how the medications work in the body. This can cause the medications to either not work as well or to cause side effects.

The authors reviewed many studies that looked at how 13 different herbal products, like St. John’s Wort, ginkgo, and kratom, can interact with medications used for mental health conditions. They found that these herbal products can either increase or decrease the amount of the medication in the body, which can be dangerous. The article gives examples of real-life cases where people experienced problems when using herbal supplements with their mental health medications.

This study was done by reviewing information from other published studies, both in the lab and in
people. The authors looked at studies that were done in humans, not animals.

Key takeaways:

• Many people use herbal supplements along with their prescription mental health medications
• Herbal products can change how the medications work in the body
• This can cause the medications to not work as well or to cause side effects
• 13 specific herbal products were found to interact with mental health medications
• Healthcare providers need to be aware of this issue and discuss herbal use with their patients

For further reading:

Link: https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/ben/cn/2022/00000020/00000009/art00004

Full Citation:

Le, T. T., McGrath, S. R., & Fasinu, P. S. (2022). Herb-drug Interactions in Neuropsychiatric Pharmacotherapy: A Review of Clinically Relevant Findings. Current Neuropharmacology, 20(9), 1736-1751.