FLORES, MYRIAM1*, MARGARET F. LAND2, SANDRA D. SIMONS3, and ALICE L. HEMPEL4. 1Department of Plant and Soil Science; 2Department of Mathematics; 3Department of Human Sciences; 4Department of Biology, Texas A&M-Kingsville, Kingsville TX 78363. - South Texas diabetes study: herbal product usage in a multiethnic population.
Exploratory data on herbal product use is being gathered by survey on
a multiethnic population of people with diabetes in southern Texas.
Herbal and folk medicine usage has been examined in local
Mexican-American communities but other ethnic groups and medically
significant populations are less studied. Diabetes is in near epidemic
proportions in South Texas and patients often take multiple
medications to treat the diabetes and co-occurring diseases such as
hypertension, cancer and depression. Data should give local health
care providers information on herbal products in high usage in
specific sub-populations, so that they may be alert for interactions,
and as a resource for which specific prescription drug/herbal
interaction testing is of most urgent need. Preliminary data indicate
about 35% uses one or more herbal product, 94% concurrently with
prescription medicine, and only 33% had informed doctor/pharmacist of
usage. All have a diagnosis of diabetes (35/57% M/F, 66% Hispanic, 21%
White, non-Hispanic, 3% African-American, 2% Native American, 8%
other). Highly significant differences are seen between Hispanic and
White usage. Only aloe vera and saw palmetto usage overlap between
groups, Hispanic herbal efficacy attitudes are more positive, but
Whites report use of herbals at higher percentages. The four most
common are aloe vera (24%), prickly pear cactus (20%), chaya
Cnidoscolus chayamansa Euphorbiaceae (14%) and saw palmetto (7%)
but usage was ethnically divided. No White, non-Hispanic reported use
of cactus or chaya.
Key words: Cnidoscolus chayamansa, diabetes, ethnobotany, Euphorbiaceae, herbal medicine, Hispanic