Abstract
Objectives: This study aimed to identify the prevalence and preference of herbal productsusage and to determine the perceptions of herbal products together with the awareness towardsthe drug-herb interactions among university students in Klang Valley Malaysia.
 Methods:A cross-sectional study was carried out by using a self-administered survey questionnairedistributed to students of four universities in Klang Valley Malaysia. A total number of 231responses were collected between December 2018 and March 2019. Statistical analysis wasperformed to evaluate the demographic factors associated with the use and perceptions of herbalproducts and awareness of drug-herb interactions.
 Results: Ethnicity and religions were twofactors associated with the use/perceptions of herbal products in the current study. The generalawareness and knowledge about drug-herb interactions were low and inadequate among theparticipants. Furthermore, with regard to awareness on drug-herb interactions, the course/program that students enrolled was found to be the sole factor linked.
 Conclusion: The culturalbeliefs and family traditional cultures played critical roles among Malaysia university studentson the use of herbal products. The healthcare stakeholders are suggested to design and to deliverprofessionally structured education to increase the consumers’ knowledge and even customerservice leading to an efficient and safe use of herbal products.
 Bangladesh Journal of Medical Science Vol.20(2) 2021 p.361-367
Highlights
Herbal products have long-since been utilized as therapeutic materials in indigenous medical systems such as Chinese, Malay, and Indian 1,2
Results of this study showed that the prevalence of herbal products usage in the past 12 months was 71.89%.The high use rate was comparable with other similar studies using Malaysia university students12,13and Nigeria students 21, but higher than the studies performed in other countries such as USA 22,23 and Qatar 14
The current study was limited by its sample size and sample diversity, since only four universities of Klang Valley Malaysia were included
Summary
Herbal products have long-since been utilized as therapeutic materials in indigenous medical systems such as Chinese, Malay, and Indian 1,2. Herbal products are often used as supplements to complement the patients’ prescribed medicine. Approximate 50-80% people globally consume herbal products for a wide range of illness[3]. Among all the categories of TCM, biologically based therapies (88.9%) including herbs/herbs based were the major resource used for the health issues (40.7%) and health maintenance (35.9%).The global utilization of herbal products continues to expend and a big number of new products are being marketed. The safety issues related to herbal products are increasingly recognized rapidly. Despite several herbal products have demonstrated promising potential for drug discovery, more remain untested and lacking proper monitoring system. Majority of the herbal products are self-prescribed by the patients and public for disease treatment and health maintenance without awareness of potential adverse effects 5. Since there are at least 30,000 over-the-counter drugs, 1000 chemical active constituents, as well as
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