A Review on Medicinal Plants Used in Animal Models and Clinical Trials concerning Drug Addiction

Addiction to drugs, such as heroin, cocaine and alcohol, exacts great human and financial costs onsociety. various evidence-based pharmacological and psychosocial interventions are currentlyused in the treatment of drug addiction but they do not produce adequate therapeutic benefits inevery patient. further, barriers such as financial cost, lack of availability, or perceptions ofexisting treatments as unappealing may limit rates of treatment uptake. thus developing newtreatments may attract a larger number of drug addicts into treatment. the use of herbalmedicines within a pluralistic treatment model fits well within a range of existing theoreticalframeworks for treating drug dependence. here, the effects of hypericum perforatum, valerianaofficinalis, passiflora incarnata, rosmarinus officinalis, papaver rhoea, tabernanthe iboga, ginkgobiloba, salvia miltiorrhiza, pueraria lobata, opuntia ficus-indica, cynara scolymus, panax ginseng,melatonin, ibogaine and its derivative 18-methoxycoronaridine and some other plants activeconstituents in animal models and clinical trials concerning drug dependence as well as alcoholintake and hangover are reviewed. at this stage, there remains insufficient evidence to supportthe use of medicinal plants or their active constituents as a primary intervention forpharmacotherapy of drug addiction. further clinical trials are required to clarify the potentialrole of particular agents.