Herbal medicines in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): A systematic review

•This is the first article systematically reviewing the evidence of herbal medicine in the treatment of ADHD in pediatric patients exclusively.•Low evidence was found for Melissa officinalis, Valeriana officinalis and Passiflora incarnata. There is still a lack of sufficient numbers of RCTs.

ObjectiveThe purpose of this review is to identify evidence in herbal therapy in the treatment of ADHD concerning effectiveness and drug tolerability.MethodFor this Medline/PubMed, Scopus and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (Central) were searched from their inception to 15 July 2016. Only randomized controlled trails (RCT) with children (0-18 years) suffering from ADHD were included in this review.ResultsNine RCTs with 464 patients comparing herbal pharmaceuticals to placebo or active control were included. Seven different herbs were tested in the treatment of ADHD symptoms. Low evidence could be found for Melissa officinalis, Valeriana officinalis and Passiflora incarnata. Limited evidence could be found for pine bark extract and Gingko biloba. The other herbal preparations showed no efficacy in the treatment of ADHD symptoms.ConclusionWhile there is still a lack of sufficient numbers of RCTs no concrete recommendations for use can be made so far.