Herbal medicines definitions

In the United States, the use of products, including botanicals, thought to fall within the realm of complementary and alternative medicine is very common. It is difficult to obtain reliable estimates of use or to compare many of the current publications in this area because of diverse definitions for categorizing these products (e.g., dietary supplement, food supplement, herbal medicine, natural remedy, traditional medicine, etc.) in both the United States and elsewhere. A recent report on the use of complementary and alternative medicine by U.S. adults in 2002 indicated that approximately 19% of the population used nonvitamin, nonmineral, and natural products, 19% used folk medicine, and 3% used megavitamin therapy in the past 12 months (1). 

Although plants are by definition natural, they contain many chemical substances, some of which can be used as drugs but others may be very toxic. Unfortunately many of the general public think that, as they are natural, herbal remedies and herbal medicines must be safe. But just as with man-made synthetic drugs, herbal remedies can and do cause harm to patients taking them. 

Tyler VE. Product definition deficiencies in clinical studies of herbal medicines. Sci Rev Altern Med 2000 4 17-21. 

An interaction is said to occur when the effects of one drug are ehanged by the presence of another drug, herbal medicine, food, drink or by some environmental chemical agent. Much more colourful and informal definitions by patients are that it is. . when medicines fight each other.. . , or .. . when medicines fizz together in the stomach. . or .. . what happens when one medicine falls out with another.. . ... 

Herbal drugs or herbal substances serve as raw material for herbal medicinal products [66]. Definitions for herbal medicinal products as well as for herbal drugs (herbal substances) and herbal (drug) preparations are provided by the European Community [66] and in the Ph. Eur. (see box). 

Medicines Act for relevant medicinal products, including section 7 (and consequently all exemptions relating to section 7). Relevant medicinal products are defined in the 1994 Regulations as those medicinal products for human use to the provisions of Directive 2001/83/EC apply. This broad definition includes most medicinal products. The exceptions are medicinal products for clinical trial use, products prepared in a pharmacy in accordance with a pharmacopoeial formula for direct supply to a patient, intermediate products, registered homoeopathic products, non-industrially produced herbal remedies and some products which are not medicinal products within the meaning of the Directive, but which by order have been made subject to control under the Medicines Act 1968. For products designated under such an order, the old provisions on particular patient supply are still applicable. In practice, there are very few such products. 

No single definition adequately captures the range of practices that fall under the CAM rubric. Those that define CAM as practices that are not part of mainstream medicine, or as practices used by patients to manage their own health care, or as therapies not widely taught in Western medical schools or available in most hospitals, fail to capture the complexity of this field. CAM includes health-care practices that range from the use of vitamins, herbal remedies, and massage therapies to the ancient traditions of Ayurveda and Chinese medicine, along with chiropractic techniques, naturopathy homeopathic medicine, meditation, hypnosis, acupuncture, and a host of other less well-known approaches to health and health care. 

Products used for a therapeutic purpose are categorised as medicines, related products, herbal remedies or mediccil devices. Definitions of other categories (e.g., cosmetics, dietary supplements, herbal remedies, etc.) are also provided in the legislation and official standards and are further described in various guidelines. 

In definition, herbal remedies used as medicines may be traditionally or serendipitously derived, varying in formulation, preparation, and standardization, sometimes unreliable as to plant identification or to chemical composition, and depending on their cultural source, infrequently validated, in conventional ways, as to efficacy or safety. They may be prescribed by a healer of experience and training or of questionable skill, or they may be used in self-medication. As exemplified in American and African indigenous populations, prayers, mantras, or other forms of healing ceremonies may be used as an adjunct to phytotherapy. The applications of energy medicine to potentiate the curative process are still poorly understood (Elvin-Lewis, 2003, 2004). 

Owing to growing demand of herbals, the need of the hour is to intensify research in the field of medicinal herbs and to get authentical information on the subject. Herbal products are often questioned for quality control and assurance. Majority of the herbal products fails in the laboratory test for active constituents mentioned on the label. Extracts standardised to active constituents and marker compounds have definite advantage over the crude dmgs. 

Definition Dried flowerheads derived from Chamomilla recutita or Chamaemelum nobile Uses Aromatic bitter, natural flavoring agent in foods, alcoholic beverages, herbal teas in medicine (antispasmodic, anti-inflammatory) hair dye... 

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