Clinical effects of date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.): A systematic review on clinical trials.

Alireza Bagherzadeh Karimi, Asghar Elmi, Arman Zargaran, Mojgan Mirghafourvand, Seyed Mohammad Bagher Fazljou, Mostafa Araj-Khodaei, Roghayeh Baghervand Navid

Journal: Complementary therapies in medicine 2020;51():102429

PMID: 32507440

Full Text on Elsevier Science View on PubMed

Abstract

PURPOSE

The aim of present study was to review and categorize the clinical trials investigating the clinical effects of different botanical parts of dates compared with any controls.

METHODS

All clinical trials (randomized, pilot, quasi-experimental, cross-over. and non-randomized clinical trials) evaluating the clinical effects of date palm from 2000 until August 2019 in English and Persian languages were included in this systematic review. The methodological quality of the included studies was evaluated according to the risk of bias assessment of Cochrane handbook of systematic reviews, and then reported using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) statement.

RESULTS

Twenty-six studies met the inclusion criteria. Studies were performed in 8 categories based on different botanical parts of date palm. These categories were obstetrics, gynecology, oncology, dermatology, hematology, gastroenterology, endocrinology, metabolism, and infertility. A total of 38 % of included studies were randomized controlled trials. Further, 80 % of the included studies had performance and detection bias. Finally, about 50 % of them had selection bias and about 20 % had attrition and reporting bias.

CONCLUSION

The widespread consumption of date palm as medicinal and botanical plant suggests the importance of this plant in human healthcare. The clinical trials conducted so far have explained a number of clinical effects of date palm. However, there is not enough clinical evidence to support the clinical effects in other review articles and traditional medical systems, and further randomized controlled trials with robust designs and methods are required.

Address: Department of Persian Medicine, School of Traditional Medicine, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran. Electronic address: [email protected].; Department of Orthopedic Surgeries, Faculty of Medicine, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran. Electronic address: [email protected].; Department of Traditional Pharmacy, School of Persian Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Electronic address: [email protected].; Department of Persian Medicine, School of Traditional Medicine, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran; Midwifery Department, Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran. Electronic address: [email protected].; Department of Persian Medicine, School of Traditional Medicine, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran. Electronic address: [email protected].; Department of Persian Medicine, School of Traditional Medicine, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran; Aging Research Institute, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran. Electronic address: [email protected].; Department of Persian Medicine, School of Traditional Medicine, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran. Electronic address: [email protected].

DOI: 10.1016/j.ctim.2020.102429

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MeSH Terms: Clinical Trials as Topic, Humans, Phoeniceae, Phytotherapy, Plants, Medicinal