Abstract

STUDY OF ASSESSMENT OF KNOWLEDGE OF PATIENTS AND HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS ABOUT THE USE OF NUTRACEUTICALS

Bilal Hussain*, Muhammad Arsalan Sajid, Muhammad Nabeel, Aqsa Saeed and Arslan Ali Shah

Abstract

The aim of present study was to know the knowledge of patients and health care professionals about the use of nutraceuticals. A selfadministered questionnaire was distributed to 100 patients and almost 100 physicians. In questionnaire every aspect of nutraceuticals for example about its use, information to patients, their positive effects as well as adverse effects and the physicians knowledge towards the dose and dosing method of nutraceuticals. Results obtained from the study were informative. Today nutraceuticals have become an important part in pharmaceuticals as well as nutritional industry because changing behavior of people which is transiting from curative to preventive. The global market of nutraceuticals is rising exponentially. It‘s because of more use of natural products in different disease like in cancer chemotherapy, in liver and autoimmune diseases, but there are several issues about the use of nutraceuticals in developing countries like Pakistan including proper knowledge of nutraceuticals to patients, their proper counseling by physicians. Almost every prescription of physicians include any nutraceuticals products like vitamins, but among these many physician don‘t know the exact dosing method and possible harm effect in result of nutraceuticals overdose. So proper steps should be taken to make nutraceuticals more healthy and beneficial for people including providing information to both people using nutraceuticals as well as training of physicians who are prescribing.

Keywords: Cancer Chemotherapy, Autoimmune Disease.