Phytomedicines characterization

However, the information derived from a detailed pharmacokinetic study will help to anticipate potential botanical product-drug interactions, to optimize the bioavailability, the quality, and hence the efficacy of herbal medicines, to support evidence for the synergistic nature of herbal medicines, and to better appreciate the safety and toxicity of the plant. Because pharmacokinetic studies with herbal medicines are often complicated by their chemical complexity and by the fact that the active compounds are often unknown, it could be one future issue to assess bioavailability by measuring surrogate parameters in plasma or tissue instead of directly assaying putative active compounds in the blood. In summary, to use HMPs in an evidence-based approach and to achieve the status rational phytomedicine, more experimental studies are needed to characterize the bioavailability and pharmacokinetics of botanical products. 

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Gaedcke, F. (2000) Pharmaceutical characterization of kava-kava extracts and their formulations. Phytomedicine, 7(Suppl. II), 27. 

Zinke H, Eck J, Langer M, Mockel B, Baur A, Lentzen H (1996) Molecular cloning of the Viscum album L. (mistletoe) gene for ML-1 and characterization of the recombinant protein. Phytomedicine 3 Suppl 1, 25... 

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