Frontiers in Pharmacology· 2014Q1· Review
The growing use of herbal medicines: issues relating to adverse reactions and challenges in monitoring safety
- 3,805citations
- Q1SCImago
- 2014year
Short summary
The global reliance on herbal medicines, used by over 80% of people for primary healthcare, is growing, yet many remain untested and poorly monitored, leading to inadequate knowledge of their safety profiles.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Key points
- Over 80% of the global population uses herbal medicines for primary healthcare.
- Many herbal products lack rigorous testing and safety monitoring.
- Inadequate knowledge exists regarding their mode of action, adverse reactions, and drug interactions.
- Effective regulatory oversight is crucial for public health protection.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
The use of herbal medicinal products and supplements has increased tremendously over the past three decades with not less than 80% of people worldwide relying on them for some part of primary healthcare. Although therapies involving these agents have shown promising potential with the efficacy of a good number of herbal products clearly established, many of them remain untested and their use are either poorly monitored or not even monitored at all. The consequence of this is an inadequate knowledge of their mode of action, potential adverse reactions, contraindications, and interactions with existing orthodox pharmaceuticals and functional foods to promote both safe and rational use of these agents. Since safety continues to be a major issue with the use of herbal remedies, it becomes imperative, therefore, that relevant regulatory authorities put in place appropriate measures to protect public health by ensuring that all herbal medicines are safe and of suitable quality. This review discusses toxicity-related issues and major safety concerns arising from the use of herbal medicinal products and also highlights some important challenges associated with effective monitoring of their safety.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Frontiers in Pharmacology, 2014 · DOI ↗
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Field: Complementary and alternative medicine
Complementary and alternative medicineMedicine