Herbal Remedies Reviewed

Even when products are properly labeled, important information is often missing. "They are not sold with any warnings. The dosage is indeterminate," says Kennedy. "There's no clinical studies for the most part on appropriate dosing. There's certainly no placebo testing of herbal medicines, which is the gold standard for testing pharmaceutical products."

However, obtaining funding for this research can be difficult. "Since you can just go out and pick this stuff, the pharmaceutical industry isn't going to be interested in bringing things to market and identifying the active agents and synthesizing them. So there's no business funding for the kind of clinical trials we get for a lot of prescription drugs," says Kennedy. Governmental funding is available but limited and he says that since The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine is a tiny component of the National Institutes of Health, they are trying to do a lot with a little budget.

Kennedy has suggested that future research should investigate the role of pharmacists in patient education about potential risks and benefits of herbal medicines. But until more research is conducted and stronger regulations are put in place, the advice "buyer beware" rules herbal medicine.

Kennedy envisions a future where patient care is a cooperative effort. "We're trying in this field to encourage at least informing your physician, but ideally moving towards an integrative medicine model where the physician, and the patient, and any complementary and alternative medical providers are working as a team."

For more information:

Video: Traditional Chinese Medicine
From the beginning of Chinese culture, the search for longevity has played an important part in everyday life. This documentary looks at how Chinese doctors diagnose illness by examining the Ying and Yang of patients.

Video: Homeopathy: The Mystery of Healing
How does homeopathy work, if indeed it does? This film looks at its origins and successes in an effort to find out.

NutraIngredients: Plant-based drugs - room for growth?
http://www.nutraingredients.com/news/ng.asp?id=37212-plant-based-drugs

Washington State Unive5rsity - WSU Researcher Explores Growing Use of Herbal Medicine
http://wsunews.wsu.edu/detail.asp?StoryID=5582