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2000
Volume 12, Issue 1
  • ISSN: 2215-0838
  • E-ISSN: 2215-0846
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Abstract

Background

Diabetic patients in Saudi Arabia commonly use herbal medicines (HMs) to manage their condition. Research studies indicate that up to 70% of this population has tried HMs, with popular choices including , , , , , , and . More clinical trials evaluating their safety and effectiveness are needed to increase the adoption of these herbal remedies.

Objective

This systematic review aims to review clinical research in the Saudi Arabian context on the efficacy of commonly used HMs for diabetes.

Methods

A comprehensive search of medical literature was conducted to identify the most popular herbs used by Saudi diabetic patients. The PubMed, Cochrane, Medline, and ScienceDirect databases were utilized to find research studies published in Saudi Arabia that examined the effectiveness of traditional herbal remedies for managing diabetes.

Results

Only four relevant studies from Saudi Arabia were identified, with three specific herbs (, , and ) used in all four studies. Two of the studies were blind clinical trials, but only one was double-blinded. The methodological quality of these studies was assessed using the Jadad score, with scores ranging from 1 to 3.

Conclusion

Although Saudi Arabia has a large population of diabetic patients, its contribution to clinical research in this field remains limited. Establishing research groups and developing a sustainable infrastructure could help to address this problem and promote more rigorous studies on HMs.

Systematic Review Registration: PROSPERO CRD 42024602747.

© 2026 The Author(s). Published by Bentham Science Publishers.
This is an open access article published under CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode
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Saudi Clinical Studies on Traditional Herbal Medicines for Diabetes: A Systematic Review
Current Traditional Medicine 12, E22150838358231 (2026); https://doi.org/10.2174/0122150838358231241129094038
/content/journals/ctm/10.2174/0122150838358231241129094038
/content/journals/ctm/10.2174/0122150838358231241129094038
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  • Article Type:     Review Article
Keyword(s): clinical studies; diabetes; diabetic herbs; herbal medicines; Saudi Arabia

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