A Descriptive Review of the Prevalence and Usage of Traditional and Complementary Medicine among Saudi Diabetic Patients

Table 2

The most used herbs among diabetics in Saudi Arabia, with their effectiveness and safety rating being extracted from the “Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database.”

Number	Common name	Scientific name	Effectiveness rating	Safety rating for adults	Safety rating during pregnancy
1	Black seeds	Nigella sativa	Insufficient evidence	Likely safe	Likely unsafe for high doses
2	Fenugreek	Trigonella foenum-graecum	Possibly effective	Likely safe	Likely safe
3	Myrrh	Commiphora myrrha (Commiphora molmol)	Insufficient evidence	Unsafe for high doses	Unsafe
4	Helteet	Ferula assa-foetida	Insufficient evidence	Possibly safe	Unsafe
5	Chinaberry leaves (neem)	Melia azedarach	Insufficient evidence	Possibly safe (low doses for short periods) and possibly unsafe (large doses or for long periods)	Likely unsafe
6	Harmel	Rhazya stricta	Insufficient evidence	Likely unsafe	Likely unsafe
7	Aloes	Aloe vera	Insufficient evidence	By mouth: possibly unsafe	Possibly unsafe
8	Ginger	Zingiber officinale	Insufficient evidence	Likely safe	Possibly safe
9	Cinnamon	Cinnamomum verum, C. zeylanicum	Possibly effective	Therapeutic doses: likely safe; high doses or for long periods: possibly unsafe	Insufficient information, so avoid