Volume 3 Number 1 (2023) Trends in Infection and Global Health Original Article The use of herbal medicines by the elderly in rural area in Indonesia: A cross-sectional study among Acehnese Suryawati Suryawati 1 , Sarah Firdausa 2,3* , Teuku Hidayat Syah 4 , Vera Dewi Mulia 5 , Hijra Novia Suardi 1 , Zahratul Aini 6 , Fauzul Husna 1 and Hafni Andayani 7 1 Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Syiah Kuala, Banda Aceh, 23111, Indonesia; 2 Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Syiah Kuala, Banda Aceh, 23111, Indonesia; 3 Department of Internal Medicine, Dr Zaionel Abidin, Banda Aceh, 24415, Indonesia; 4 Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Syiah Kuala, Banda Aceh, 23111, Indonesia; 5 Department of Pathology Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Syiah Kuala, Banda Aceh, 23111, Indonesia; 6 Department of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Syiah Kuala, Banda Aceh, 23111, Indonesia; 7 Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Syiah Kuala, Banda Aceh, 23111, Indonesia Abstract The use of herbal medicines has become increasingly popular worldwide. Elderly has been associated with higher consumption of many medications, including herbal medicines. However, there is a lack of documentation of medicinal herbs use among Acehnese population. Our study aimed at evaluating the profile of herbals use among the elderly population in a rural area of Aceh Province, Indonesia. A cross-sectional study was conducted from October to November 2021 in Nagan Raya Regency of Aceh. To collect information on the use of herbs, a set of structured questionnaires was utilized. The data were presented in percentage (%). A total of 100 respondents were included comprising 54.0% female and most of the respondents aged between 60–64 years (43.0%). The largest percentage of the participants made their own herbal medicines (45.0%) and used them routinely as a habit (36.0%). About 75.0% of the elderly felt better and almost all of them (96.0%) reported no adverse reaction following herbs consumption. A total of 39 plant species were used by the respondents with Annona muricate L. was the most frequently used medicinal plant (16.0%) and leaves were the most commonly used parts (68.4%). Most of the herbs were prepared through boiling and squeezing (32.6%), and mainly used in the form of a drink (77.3%). Cough treatment with herbs made up 19.3%, followed by hypertension (18.0%), flatulence (7.6%), dyspepsia (5.8%), and fever (5.8%). Our investigation revealed consistency in the use of some medicinal herbs in the present study with published experimental data. However, since elderlies are often considered vulnerable individuals, the practice of herbal self- remedies among this population should be well-monitored. Keywords: Elderly, herbs, herbal medicine, medicinal plants, alternative medication Introduction The use of herbal medicines, nonprescription drugs containing herbal or natural products, has been increasing and continues to expand across the world (Abdel- Kader et al., 2018; Ismail et al., 2005; Welz et al., 2018). They have been used for centuries and have become an integral part of various cultural practices worldwide (Bandaranayake, 2006; Bodeker, 2005; Mukherjee, 2002). In Malaysia, the use of traditional Chinese medicines among the population has reached approximately 67.7% (Teow et al., 2021). In Indonesia, herbal medicine utilization was reportedly around 50% according to the Indonesian Basic Health Research in 2010 (Riskesdas, 2010), and the percentage was higher (60%) among the population over 15 years of age in 2013 (Riskesdas, 2013). In 2014, the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) documented that about 30.1% of the Indonesian population use traditional medicines, and 12.9% of the population practice their own traditional remedies, including self-herb preparation and administration, massages, and other traditional therapies without expert assistance (BPS, 2016). In Indonesia, the use of herbal medicine has emerged from a long historical tradition of utilizing products of natural origin for therapeutic purposes (Pen et al., 2014). *Correspondence: Sarah Firdausa Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Syiah Kuala, Banda Aceh, Indonesia E-mail address: sarahfirdausa@usk.ac.id Article Information Received : 25 Mar 2023 Accepted : 27 April 2023 Published : 01 Jun 2023