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 on society. Various evidence-based pharmacological and psychosocial interventions are currently used in the treatment of drug addiction but they do not produce adequate therapeutic benefits in every patient. Further, barriers such as financial cost, lack of availability, or perceptions of existing treatments as unappealing may limit rates of treatment uptake. Thus developing new treatments may attract a larger number of drug addicts into treatment. The use of herbal medicines within a pluralistic treatment model fits well within a range of existing theoretical frameworks for treating drug dependence. Here, the effects of Hypericum perforatum, Valeriana officinalis, Passiflora incarnata, Rosmarinus officinalis, Papaver rhoea, Tabernanthe iboga, Ginkgo biloba, salvia miltiorrhiza, Pueraria lobata, Opuntia ficus-indica, Cynara scolymus, Panax ginseng, melatonin, ibogaine and its derivative 18-methoxycoronaridine and some other plants active constituents in animal models and clinical trials concerning drug dependence as well as alcohol intake and hangover are reviewed. At this stage, there remains insufficient evidence to support the use of medicinal plants or their active constituents as a primary intervention for pharmacotherapy of drug addiction. Further clinical trials are required to clarify the potential role of particular agents.