2015, Pages 247–258
Chapter 11 – Good Quality and Clinical Practices for the Future Development of Herbal Medicines
Abstract
Traditional
medicines (TMs) continue to serve the healthcare needs of millions, if
not billions, of people worldwide. Herbal medicines (HMs) play a central
role in TM and can contribute to the goal of ensuring healthcare for
all people, when proven to be of sufficient quality, safety, and
efficacy. However, continuing problems that deter the progression of HMs
include the same issues of quality, safety, and efficacy. Following
published Good Manufacturing guidelines or developing new ones where
none exist may overcome these issues, as good quality herbal products
significantly improve their overall safety and efficacy. Consumers of
HMs often believe that HMs are safer than are prescription drugs, and in
fact, the adverse event reporting for HMs continues to be low. While
there are thousands of in vitro and in vivo studies, good quality
clinical data for many commonly used HMs are still lacking and should be
a priority for future research.
Keywords
- Efficacy;
- Good manufacturing guidelines;
- Harmonization;
- Herbal medicine;
- Quality;
- Safety;
- Traditional medicine
Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
