Use of Herbal Medicine in French Guiana: Influences and Challenges for Prevention Strategies in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic
44 Pages Posted: 11 Oct 2022
Abstract
Ethnopharmacological relevance: In French Guiana, the COVID-19 pandemic was marked by very high levels of SARS-CoV-2 transmission in the general population, low rates of hospitalizations and deaths, and high vaccine hesitancy. In addition, the use of traditional herbal remedies is very high in the population, and understanding its influence as a part of the population’s healing strategy is important.
Aims of study: In this context, we investigated the use of traditional remedies for the prevention or treatment of COVID-19 in French Guiana and its influence on vaccine hesitancy.
Materials and methods: An online survey was conducted between April and May 2021 among 1,295 participants living in French Guiana aged18 years or more. Demographic characteristics, attitudes and perceptions of the population about the pandemic, vaccination intentions and use of traditional remedies were collected through a standardized questionnaire.The plants cited were collected and deposited at the Cayenne herbarium for identification.
Results: To fight COVID-19, 31.7% of people used traditional remedies, whereas 71.4% reported usually treating themselves with remedies unrelated to COVID-19. A total of 604 use reports were recorded as "anti-coronavirus". Quassia amara (Simaroubaceae) was the most frequently used species (153/604), representing 25.3% of the citations. Preventive use was more important than curative use. Vaccine hesitancy was more common among people using traditional remedies.
Conclusions: Several species used in French Guiana are consensually used in French Guiana, such as Quassia amara , Neurolaena lobata, Alpinia zerumbet, and Tinospora crispa. Additional studies would be useful to investigate qualitative and quantitative components of interest, mechanisms and effects.
Note:
Funding Information: This study was supported by the Regional Health Agency of French Guiana (CAPCOVID project), an Investissement d’Avenir grant from the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (CEBA: ANR-10-LABX-25-01) and the “European Regional Development Fund” (Projet MELOCOVID, N° SYNERGIE: GY 0027304).CF acknowledges financial support from the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (Projet EPI-COVID-19, grant agreement number ANR-20- COVI-0014) and the “European Regional Development Fund” (grant agreement number GY0027257).
Declaration of Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
Ethics Approval Statement: Data were collected in accordance with French and European legislation and security of personal data. No directly identifying data were collected, and it was not possible to reidentify individuals through cross-checking answers Data were collected in accordance with French and European legislation for the protection and security of personal data. No directly identifying data were collected, and it was not possible to reidentify individuals through cross-checking answers. The research was deemed exempt under 45CFR46 by the Institut Pasteur IRB (IRB00006966) on May 4, 2021.
Keywords: SARS-CoV, herbal medicine, French Guiana, traditional remedies, COVID-19 vaccination
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