04 March 2025 : Original article
Herbal Medicine Use Among Transplant Recipients in Saudi Arabia: Prevalence and Risk Awareness
Bassem A. Almalki ACDEF 1*, Fawaz M. Alotaibi ACD 1, Mohammed Aldholmi
DE 2, Yousef S. Alqarni A 1, Sawsan M. Kurdi E 3, Mohammed M. Alsultan AC 1, Wafa A. Alzlaiq E 1, Mansour M. Alotaibi CDE 4, Noor M. Alashi ABD 5, Fatimah S. Alzahrani BE 5, Nouf E. Alotaibi AB 6, Mohamed A. Albekery DE 7, Sarah A. Albilal ABE 8, Khawla M. Kahtani B 8, Mohammed Abdelgawad Gafar BCF 9, Sahar M. Al-Mowaina BEF 10, Ahmed K. Alalawi B 1, Abdullah A. Alshehab BDEF 1, Ahmed J. Aljasem BDEF 1, Abdulkareem M. Albekairy ACDF 11
DOI: 10.12659/AOT.947275
Ann Transplant 2025; 30:e947275
Table 1 Baseline demographic of participants based on post-transplant herbal supplements use.
| Characteristics | Entire participants | Herbal supplement users | Herbal supplement non-users | P value | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | ||
| Total | 203 | 100 | 39 | 19.2 | 164 | 80.8 | |
| Age | 0.085 | ||||||
| 1 – 18–30 | 34 | 16.75 | 2 | 5.88 | 32 | 94.12 | |
| 2 – 31–40 | 53 | 26.11 | 8 | 15.09 | 45 | 85 | |
| 3 – 41–50 | 45 | 22.17 | 9 | 20 | 36 | 80 | |
| 4 – 51–60 | 46 | 22.66 | 13 | 28.26 | 33 | 72 | |
| 5 – 61 or older | 25 | 12.32 | 7 | 28 | 18 | 72 | |
| Gender | 0.8523 | ||||||
| 1 – Male | 138 | 68.0 | 27 | 19.8 | 111 | 80.4 | |
| 2 – Female | 65 | 32.0 | 12 | 18.5 | 53 | 81.5 | |
| Transplant date | 0.4263 | ||||||
| 1 – Less than a year | 79 | 38.9 | 13 | 16.5 | 66 | 84.0 | |
| 2 – More than a year | 124 | 61.1 | 26 | 21.0 | 98 | 79.0 | |
| Organ | 0.3065 | ||||||
| 1 – Kidney | 138 | 68.0 | 24 | 17.0 | 114 | 83.0 | |
| 2 – Liver | 58 | 28.6 | 15 | 26.0 | 43 | 74.0 | |
| 3 – Heart | 2 | 1.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 2 | 100 | |
| 4 – Other | 5 | 2.5 | 0 | 0.0 | 5 | 100 | |
| Herbal use before transplant | <0.0001 | ||||||
| 1 – Yes | 90 | 44.3 | 34 | 38.0 | 56 | 62.0 | |
| 2 – No | 113 | 55.7 | 5 | 5.0 | 108 | 95.0 | |
| Education before | 0.1515 | ||||||
| 1 – Yes | 37 | 18.2 | 4 | 11.0 | 33 | 89.0 | |
| 2 – No | 166 | 81.8 | 35 | 21.0 | 131 | 79.0 | |
| Education after | 0.3238 | ||||||
| 1 – Yes | 60 | 29.6 | 9 | 15.0 | 51 | 85.0 | |
| 2 – No | 143 | 70.4 | 30 | 21.0 | 113 | 79.0 | |
| Knowledgeable | 0.3238 | ||||||
| 1 – Yes | 60 | 29.6 | 9 | 15.0 | 51 | 85.0 | |
| 2 – No | 143 | 70.4 | 30 | 21.0 | 113 | 79.0 | |
| Knowledge importance | 0.2486 | ||||||
| 1 – Yes | 152 | 74.9 | 27 | 18.0 | 125 | 82.0 | |
| 2 – No | 21 | 10.3 | 3 | 15.0 | 18 | 85.0 | |
| 3 – Maybe | 30 | 14.8 | 9 | 30.0 | 21 | 70.0 | |
| Knowledge of herbal supplements risks | <0.0007 | ||||||
| 1 – Yes | 125 | 61.6 | 15 | 15.0 | 110 | 88.0 | |
| 2 – No | 20 | 9.9 | 9 | 45.0 | 11 | 55.0 | |
| 3 – Maybe | 58 | 28.6 | 15 | 26.0 | 43 | 74.0 | |