The use of medicinal plants in common ophthalmic disorders: A systematic review with meta-analysis (original) (raw)

This study aimed to assess and compile the available research articles about medicinal plants used for ocular diseases. Principal results: A total of 2949 articles were retrieved, 35 full-text articles were assessed for eligibility, and seven studies (4 observational and three experimental) with low to moderate quality were eligible and involved in the systematic review, with a total of 600 plants from 4 countries. Among the 600 plants, only 24 (4%) were used to assess the status. Both the fixed and random models of the studies showed that the included studies tended to predict the results for the observational studies (OR = 0.062, CI = 0.043-0.090 OR = 0.039, CI = 0.012-0.122) for different plants used for ocular diseases. High heterogeneity (estimated as I 2 = 87.078, Tau 2 = 1.161 and Q-value = 23.217 with a p-value of 0.000), while for experimental studies (I 2 = 94.928, Tau 2 = 23.211 and Q-value = 39.434 with a p-value of 0.000) and publication bias were reported. Conclusion: Few articles representing approximately 600 plants of low to moderate quality reported using medicinal plants for ocular diseases. The meta-analysis confirmed the systematic review findings regarding the plants' traditional use with high heterogeneity and publication bias. A considerable gap was proven in the use of medicinal plants in ocular diseases requiring intensive research. Impact statement Recently, increasing interest has been observed focused on discovering and evaluating therapeutic potential and identifying the main bioactive compounds and possible synergisms of medicinal plants [1]. Several plants have been found to have activity against a number of ophthalmological problems [1]. Certain bioactive constituents of plant sources, including curcumin, lutein, zeaxanthin, saffron, catechin, Ginkgo biloba extract and quercetin, were reported to have substantial therapeutic effects on common ocular diseases [2]. These bioactive components are

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