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Pharmacoepidemiological Data on Drug–Herb Interactions: Serotonin Syndrome, Arrhythmias and the Emerging Role of Artificial Intelligence

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Herbal medicinal products are increasingly used alongside conventional medicines, raising the risk of potential interactions such as pharmacodynamic drug–herb interactions (PD-DHIs) that can cause serious adverse drug reactions (ADRs). This review aims to present available pharmacological, clinical and pharmacoepidemiological literature regarding potential DHIs associated with serotonin syndrome or cardiac arrhythmias. Furthermore, it assesses the current evidence using the Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine (CEBM) 2009 framework. Serotonin syndrome most often results from combining serotonergic herbs (e.g., St. John’s wort) with antidepressants like serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), as supported by repeated case reports and mechanistic plausibility (CEBM Level 3, Grade C). Other herbs such as black cohosh, ginseng, Syrian rue, turmeric, rhodiola, ashwagandha, and L-tryptophan/5-HTP have been linked to serotonin syndrome when used with SSRIs, serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), or monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), but evidence is limited (Levels 4–5, Grade D). For cardiac arrhythmias, PD-DHIs arise when herbs interact with drugs that alter cardiac electrophysiology—such as QT-prolonging agents, psychotropics, antiarrhythmics or digoxin—thereby amplifying arrhythmogenic risk. Ephedra with sympathomimetics is strongly associated with arrhythmias (Level 2–3, Grade B). Licorice may potentiate digoxin and QT-prolonging drugs via hypokalemia (Level 4, Grade C). Other related PD-DHIs include aconite with antiarrhythmics, bitter orange or caffeine with QT-prolonging psychotropics, yohimbine with cardiovascular agents, and aloe or senna with digoxin. Overall, the evidence for PD-DHIs varies from moderate to weak but large-scale pharmacoepidemiological data is scarce. Future approaches, including artificial intelligence with explainable machine learning and network pharmacology, may integrate mechanistic, clinical, and real-world data to improve early detection or prediction of PD-DHIs. However, several specific challenges must be addressed. Therefore, it is crucial for healthcare providers in both clinical and community settings to increase their awareness of these interactions and ADRs to ensure the safe use of herbal remedies alongside conventional therapies.

Source: Pharmacoepidemiology

DOI: 10.3390/pharma4040022

Authors: Marios Spanakis, Evangelos Bakaros, Stella-Natalia Papadopoulou, Agapi Fournaraki, Emmanouil K. Symvoulakis

Institutions: University of Crete, Foundation for Research and Technology Hellas, University of Thessaly

Language: English

Topic: Complementary and Alternative Medicine Studies

Subfield: Complementary and alternative medicine

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $1,207