International Journal Of Drug Regulatory Affairs
  • Year: 2024
  • Volume: 12
  • Issue: 2

Experience of health professionals in the implementation of clinical trials of traditional herbal medicines: A cross-sectional study in Mali

  • Author:
  • Aboubacar Sangho1,2, Daniel Dori2,3, Kampadilemba Ouoba2,5, Oumar Sangho4, Assitan Kaloga1,2, Rokia Sanogo1,6, Rasmane Semde2
  • Total Page Count: 8
  • Page Number: 10 to 17

1Pharmaceutical Sciences Teaching and Research Department Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Science, Technique and Technology of Bamako (USTTB), Mali

2Drug Development Laboratory, African Center of Excellence for Training, Research and Expertise in Pharmaceutical Sciences (CEA-CFOREM), Sciences and Health Doctoral School, Training and Research Unit in Health Sciences, Joseph KI-ZERBO University, 03 BP 7021, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

3Pediatric University Hospital Center Charles De Gaulle, 01 BP 1198, Ouagadougou03, Burkina Faso

4Department of Teaching and Research in Public Health and Specialities, Faculty of Medicine and Odontostomatology, USTTB, Mali

5National Agency for Pharmaceutical Regulation, Ministry of Health, 03 BP 7009, Ouagadougou03, Burkina Faso

6National Research Institute for Traditional Medicine and Pharmacopoeia (INRMPT), Bamako, Mali

Online published on 25 June, 2025.

Abstract

The objective of this study was to determine the experience of health professionals in clinical trials of traditional herbal medicines in Mali.

This was a cross-sectional study conducted from June to December 2022 among healthcare professionals in three randomly selected localities: the district of Bamako and the regions of Koulikoro and Sikasso. Data were collected by direct interview using an anonymous questionnaire. The Chi-square (χ2) test was used to assess factors associated with participation in clinical trials of traditional medicines.

The involvement of healthcare professionals in clinical trials of traditional medicines was low (3.5%) and was associated with age (p=0.021). The obstacles to conducting these trials reported by healthcare professionals were lack of funding and failure to take account of the specificities of traditional medicines in clinical trial regulations. Some healthcare professionals suggest ethnomedical evaluation of recipes proposed by traditional practitioners and the use of reverse pharmacology as alternatives.

Research into traditional medicines could be given greater impetus by the long-term funding of clinical trials and by less costly alternatives such as the ethnomedical evaluation of recipes proposed by traditional healers and reverse pharmacology.

Keywords

Traditional herbal medicines (THMs), Clinical trials, Healthcare professionals, Mali World Health Organization (WHO), Sampling