Improving the Quality, Safety and Efficacy of Herbal Medicine
Herbal medicine products have been used for thousands of years for the preven-
tion and treatment of various diseases in India, China, and other countries. Herbal
medicine occupies an important position with regard to adverse reactions, having
a lower percentage (7.6%) of reported adverse effects than other CAM therapies,
such as manipulation (15.8%), acupuncture (12.5%), and homeopathy (9.8%) [6,
71, 72].
Problem and difficulties arise, however, in the quality assurance of herbal me-
dicinal products because of the complex nature of unidentified chemical entities in
the finished products and our lack of knowledge about the actual bioactive com-
pounds. Recent advances in analytical chemistry and related disciplines have a
promising role in elucidating complex chemical compositions. Chemical and ana-
lytical techniques can be applied at different stages of good practice in quality assu-
72 3 Herbal Medicines: Prospects and Constraints
rance of herbal medicine. Major stages at which techniques such as GC, HPLC,
high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC), ultraviolet (UV), infrared
(IR), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), MS, X-ray diffraction, GC/MS, and
LC/MS, etc. may be applied include Good Agricultural Practise (GAP), Good
Sourcing Practise (GSP), Good Manufacturing Practise (GMP), and Good Clinical
Trial Practise (GCTP) [6].
The problem still is not solved in cases where synergistic action provided by
some chemically unknown or isolated ingredients in composite herbal medicine
have proven effectiveness from double clinical trials. On the other hand, produc-
tion of active secondary metabolites may be influenced by physiological conditions
and closely related species may contain similar chemical components, causing
problems in botanical identification.
Herbal medicine products have been used for thousands of years for the preven-
tion and treatment of various diseases in India, China, and other countries. Herbal
medicine occupies an important position with regard to adverse reactions, having
a lower percentage (7.6%) of reported adverse effects than other CAM therapies,
such as manipulation (15.8%), acupuncture (12.5%), and homeopathy (9.8%) [6,
71, 72].
Problem and difficulties arise, however, in the quality assurance of herbal me-
dicinal products because of the complex nature of unidentified chemical entities in
the finished products and our lack of knowledge about the actual bioactive com-
pounds. Recent advances in analytical chemistry and related disciplines have a
promising role in elucidating complex chemical compositions. Chemical and ana-
lytical techniques can be applied at different stages of good practice in quality assu-
72 3 Herbal Medicines: Prospects and Constraints
rance of herbal medicine. Major stages at which techniques such as GC, HPLC,
high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC), ultraviolet (UV), infrared
(IR), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), MS, X-ray diffraction, GC/MS, and
LC/MS, etc. may be applied include Good Agricultural Practise (GAP), Good
Sourcing Practise (GSP), Good Manufacturing Practise (GMP), and Good Clinical
Trial Practise (GCTP) [6].
The problem still is not solved in cases where synergistic action provided by
some chemically unknown or isolated ingredients in composite herbal medicine
have proven effectiveness from double clinical trials. On the other hand, produc-
tion of active secondary metabolites may be influenced by physiological conditions
and closely related species may contain similar chemical components, causing
problems in botanical identification.
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