USO DA CAMOMILA (MATRICARIA CAMOMILA L.) NO TRATAMENTO DE INDIVÍDUOS COM TRANSTORNO DE ANSIEDADE GENERALIZADA

Anxiety disorders are among the most common psychiatric conditions, ranking just below drug and alcohol dependence and depression in frequency, and about less than 30% of individuals with an anxiety disorder seek any kind of medical therapy for the disorder. The main drugs available for the treatment of Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) are benzodiazepine tranquilizers, which, although effective for the short-term treatment of the disease, can cause some adverse effects. Chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla L.) is one of the most used herbal remedies in the world, its benefits include anxiolytic, antispasmodic, antiseptic and anti-inflammatory effects. Although the calming effects of chamomile are widely known and used around the world, a few controlled studies have been carried out on humans. Therefore, the objective of this work is to evaluate the chamomile effectiveness in the treatment of individuals with Generalized Anxiety Disorder and other associated psychiatric disorders (comorbid depression). The clinical trials analyzed to prepare this review were published between 2010 and 2020, all conducted in humans, double blind, placebo controlled, following the standards established by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Metanalyses (PRISMA). From the identification of 19 articles, nine were initially included, but later three articles were discarded from the review. The sample size was 57, 179 or 180 people, and in the age range of the participants there was variation between young people aged 18 or over to adults with an average of 45.7 years old. All included studies showed positive results from the use of chamomile. Thus, as there were no negative consequences in the use of chamomile, there was compatibility between the trials, with variations occurring in the range of 50% of GAD relapses.