Herbal medicines and the risk they cause to life. How to prevent?
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According to the World Health Organization, 70-80% of the world rely on herbal based medicines for their primary health care. Many herbal medicines are available in pharmaceutical stores without any doctor’s card saying that they are healthy. But according to a recent report, the people who consumed these are suffering from invisible, undeclared poisonings. Many times no side effects like this are reported. And there is no system to record these either. Many herbal medicinal blends reportedly contain the highest levels of prohibited pesticides, lifestyles, weight metals, chemicals, stigma to grow them, medicines. Good growing method, good lab environment, good manufacturing method, good supply method, good storage method none of these will follow (Chan, 2003). The lack of a system to inspect these in a modern way is the reason for all this. A report says that the medicines that were traditionally produced and were dangerous to human lives without any direction. Modern medical system medicines are being released on the market by examining their side effects. But the research says that herbal medicines are far more dangerous than modern medicines by entering the market without any testing, control in the name of health boosters and no good laws to control them (Tauti and others, 2021). Scientists say that weight metals are more than human beings are capable of consuming and tolerating daily (Lokatelli and others, 2014).
But the concept of common people is different. 95% of people, including literates, have an opinion that all naturally found herbal-original medicines are very safe. The World Health Organization has also agreed to the opinion to mandate various very strict regulatory standards on these herbal products than modern medical system synthetic medicines. Even though the World Health Organization released the guidelines regarding its safety in 2004 itself, it is still following it (VAASM, 2004). Even in India, these controls are under the AYUSH Department and issued many guidelines, they are not that difficult and there are no toughest guiding formulas for making and selling them (CCRAS, 2018). There may be a reason for many people’s affection and sympathy and even a little soft attitude that these are “traditional medicines”.
Whatever has “effects” there will always be side effects. It’s not a medicine if it doesn’t have side effects. The stages of side effects may be different. It’s a big false belief that herbal medicines don’t have side effects. Still no medicine has been found with zero side effects. They just haven’t tested the most appropriate way with modern medicines. There are no appropriate methods of manufacturing, selling, controlling herbal medicines.
But who is responsible when people’s lives are damaged because of these, there is no answer to the normal question. World Health Organization and Government of India’s guidelines need to be strictly and precisely implemented for herbal medicines to be used safely.
Dr : N . B. Sridhara
The professors and the heads
Department of veterinary pharmaceutical and anxology,
Veterinary College, Shimoga-577204
Shapes:
Shapes:
- Chan, K., 2003. Some aspects of toxic contaminants in herbal medicines. Chemosphere, 52(9), pp.1361-1371.
- Locatelli, C., Melucci, D. and Locatelli, M., 2014. Toxic metals in herbal medicines. A review. Current Bioactive Compounds, 10(3), pp.181-188.
- Touiti, N., Houssaini, T.S. and Achour, S., 2021. Overview on pharmacovigilance of nephrotoxic herbal medicines used worldwide. Clinical Phytoscience, 7(1), pp.1-8.
- WHO,2004.WHO guidelines onsafety monitoring of herbal medicinesin pharmacovigilance systems.1-82.
- CCRAS, 2018. General guidelines fordrug development of Ayurvedic formulations.1-112.
