A Systematic Review of the Role of Medicinal Plants in the Treatment of Chemotherapy Induced Nausea and Vomiting

Background: Chemotherapy is one of the most common treatments in cancer management. Chemotherapy drugs usually have different side effects. Nausea and vomiting associated with chemotherapy are among the most severe side effects. Due to the limited effect and dangerous side effects of taking anti-nausea drugs, herbal medicine has been chosen by patients as an alternative treatment. The aim of this study was to review the use of medicinal plants in the treatment of nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy Method: In this study, systematic review using the following keywords: Controlling nausea and vomiting, chemotherapy side effects, chemotherapy-induced nausea, Web of Science, Pub Med, Scopus, SID, Magiran and Iran Doc databases, was performed during 2018 - 2008. In the initial search, 360 articles were found, and after reviewing eligibility criteria, 18 articles were reviewed. Findings: The results of this systematic review confirmed the effect of using a variety of herbs that were used as a solution to prevent and treat nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy. These herbs included ginger, chamomile, mint, cardamom, garlic and onion, respectively. Conclusion: Early diagnosis of side effects in patients can prevent forced discontinuation of treatment or dose reduction to control side effects that will in return reduce treatment efficacy. Therefore, it is possible to improve the condition of patients and reduce the effects of chemotherapy by providing certain requirements and educational programs on how to use these herbs. The interventions were also examined in patients with different types of cancers, while each type of cancer had its own chemotherapy protocols and differed from other protocols in terms of the severity of nausea. Consequently, one could not easily judge the effectiveness of different types of herbs on chemotherapy induced nausea and generalize the results to all types of cancers, therefore further research in this area is recommended by the researcher.