Seems those Antipodeans can’t get enough of herbal medicines according to a new study into herbal medicine use in Australia.

The study carried out by the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology discovered that the use of herbal medicine by Australians has increased significantly. The survey of over 2,500 people in Victoria questioned participants on their use of the 24 most common herbs in Australia. 22.6% said they had used one of the herbs within the last year with the most popular being garlic, green tea and aloe vera among people who earned $60k-$80k per year.

The highest usage was among 35-54 year-olds and other popular herbs included St.John’s Wort, Evening Primrose, Peppermint, Echinacea, Gingko Biloba, Ginseng and Dandelion.

Over 90% believed that using herbal medicine had been beneficial for their general health and also provided relief from specific medical conditions. This was seen by lead researcher Professor Charlie Xue as a clinically significant number of people.

Reasons for seeking out herbal medicine included skin conditions, insomnia and other sleep disorders, colds, influenza, digestive problems and anxiety.

Women were found to use herbal medicine more than men and over half the people questioned used herbs alongside pharmaceutical drugs for their problem.

However, those who used herbal medicine were lacking knowledge of the herbs’ side-effects, effectiveness or safe-use. St.John’s Wort for example has been found to have a negative interaction with certain drugs.

Only 8% of herbal users were recommended the treatment by a GP with most people finding their information from friends, relatives or the internet. However, if given advice from a GP most said they would accept a doctor’s judgement on whether to use herbal medicine. Only half of the people surveyed said they’d discussed the option with their GP.

Professor Xue said that GPs lack knowledge about herbal medicines and more should be done to provide evidence of the effectiveness and safety of herbal treatment.

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