J Altern Complement Med. 2001 Oct; 7(5): 583-601.

Global Forum on Safety of Herbal and Traditional Medicine: July 7, 2001, Gold Coast, Australia.

Noller BN, Myers S, Abegaz B, Singh MM, Kronenberg F, Bodeker G.

National Health and Medical Research Council, National Research Centre for Environmental Toxicology, Coopers Plains, QLD, Australia. [email protected]

This report provides a summary of the background and inputs of various groups who attended the Global Forum on Safety of Herbal and Traditional Medicine conference held in the Gold Coast, Australia, on July 7, 2001. Keynote presentations covered the status of regulation of complementary medicine in Australia and comparative examples from Africa and Bangladesh. There was substantial input about work to date on databases, reflecting the need to have a focus on safety outcomes as a point of direction for the forum. Safety evaluation, which incorporates quality procedures, was identified as another point of focus. Clear evidence for the nonutilization of plants known to contain certain compounds producing deleterious effects was exemplified via data and information on the dangers of ingesting pyrrolizidine alkaloids.