Herbal Medicines in Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): A Systematic Review

Overview

Journal Complement Ther Med

Publisher Elsevier

Specialty Rehabilitation Medicine

Date 2017 Feb 1

PMID 28137522

Citations 9

Authors

Dennis Anheyer

Romy Lauche

Dania Schumann

Gustav Dobos

Holger Cramer

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this review is to identify evidence in herbal therapy in the treatment of ADHD concerning effectiveness and drug tolerability.

Method: For this Medline/PubMed, Scopus and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (Central) were searched from their inception to 15 July 2016. Only randomized controlled trails (RCT) with children (0-18years) suffering from ADHD were included in this review.

Results: Nine RCTs with 464 patients comparing herbal pharmaceuticals to placebo or active control were included. Seven different herbs were tested in the treatment of ADHD symptoms. Low evidence could be found for Melissa officinalis, Valeriana officinalis and Passiflora incarnata. Limited evidence could be found for pine bark extract and Gingko biloba. The other herbal preparations showed no efficacy in the treatment of ADHD symptoms.

Conclusion: While there is still a lack of sufficient numbers of RCTs no concrete recommendations for use can be made so far.

Citing Articles

Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) Practices: A Narrative Review Elucidating the Impact on Healthcare Systems, Mechanisms and Paediatric Applications.

Romero-Garcia P, Ramirez-Perez S, Miguel-Gonzalez J, Guzman-Silahua S, Castaneda-Moreno J, Komninou S Healthcare (Basel). 2024; 12(15).

PMID: 39120250 PMC: 11311728. DOI: 10.3390/healthcare12151547.

A systematic meta-review of systematic reviews on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Chaulagain A, Lyhmann I, Halmoy A, Widding-Havneraas T, Nyttingnes O, Bjelland I Eur Psychiatry. 2023; 66(1):e90.

PMID: 37974470 PMC: 10755583. DOI: 10.1192/j.eurpsy.2023.2451.

Herbal medicines in the treatment of children and adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): An updated systematic review of clinical trials.

Golsorkhi H, Qorbani M, Sabbaghzadegan S, Dadmehr M Avicenna J Phytomed. 2023; 13(4):338-353.

PMID: 37663386 PMC: 10474921. DOI: 10.22038/AJP.2022.21115.

Phytotherapy for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Dutta T, Anand U, Mitra S, Ghorai M, Jha N, Shaikh N Front Pharmacol. 2022; 13:827411.

PMID: 35592415 PMC: 9110892. DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2022.827411.

Beneficial Effects of Plant Extracts and Bioactive Food Components in Childhood Supplementation.

Ullah H, De Filippis A, Baldi A, Dacrema M, Esposito C, Garzarella E Nutrients. 2021; 13(9).

PMID: 34579034 PMC: 8464764. DOI: 10.3390/nu13093157.