HERBAL REMEDIES USED IN TREATMENT OF BACTERIAL VAGINITIS: A MINI-REVIEW

Herbal remedies are globally accepted for treatment of several diseases including infections. Certain herbs possess traditional evidence to be used in vaginitis, especially bacterial vaginitis. This paper was designed to gather various data on the possible effectiveness of herbal remedies on different types of vaginitis particularly bacterial vaginitis. By means of major electronic databases, all relevant studies on vaginitis and herbal remedies including research articles, review articles and conference papers published from 1962 to 2016 were used. The terms used in the search were “Herbal remedies”, “vaginitis”, “bacterial vaginitis”, “herbal treatment of vaginitis”, “types or varieties of vaginitis”, “trichomoniasis”, “yeast infections”, and “candidiasis”. This review exposes that vaginitis is a global problem that affects women mainly in reproductive ages. Bacterial vaginitis occurs more frequently than the other forms of vaginitis, though two types can occur concurrently. Recurrence has been documented for all types of vaginitis. Several studies have been carried out to validate the traditional claim of herbal uses, which most of them have been shown to be effective against the three forms of infectious vaginitis. They have shown efficiency similar to metronidazole on both symptoms and recurrence, with a healthier side effect profile. Tea tree oil, Zataria multiflora, garlic, as well as Persian shallots have proven efficacy in vitro studies against wide the range of organisms implicated in these diseases. Non-infectious vaginitis can also be treated with phytoestrogens from plants such as Ribes nigrum. The use of herbal remedies in infectious vaginitis has been shown be effective. Therefore, the toxicity profile and t herapeutic doses of these plants should be determined to gain better effectiveness. Keywords: Herbal Remedies, Vaginitis, Bacterial Vaginitis.