Indian J Exp Biol. 2002 Jan; 40(1): 7-11.

Herbal formulations as pharmacotherapeutic agents.

Kuruvilla A.

Department of Pharmacology, PSG Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, Coimbatore 641 004, India. psgimsr.md3.vsnl.net.in

Herbal medicines are popular as remedies for diseases by vast majority of world's population. Polyherbal preparations are products from medicinal plants. These are considered as safe since they are natural products. Herbal formulations which have reached widespread acceptability as therapeutic agents in India include noortropics, antidiabetics, hepatoprotective agents and lipid lowering agents. Pharmacological effects of many plants have been studied in various laboratories in India. However, there are many limitations regarding safety and efficacy of these preparations. Knowledge about active principles of herbal preparations are not well defined, information on toxicity and adverse effects of these formulations are lacking. Information regarding pharmacokinetics and bioavailability is not available. Packet inserts providing details regarding safety, and warning are not required for sale of these which are available as over the counter preparations. The risk of untested and unregulated remedies should be known to the lay public. Selection of plant material based on quality, standardisation of methods of preparation, enforcement of regulation regarding appropriate labels, are measures which will improve the quality and acceptability of herbal preparations as therapeutic agents. Documentation of research publications in journals and availability of information on website, are other measures to assist research in this field.