Supported by a usage history that predates written records and the perception that “natural” ensures safety, herbal products have increasingly been incorporated into Western health care. Consumers often self-administer these products concomitantly with conventional medications without informing their health care provider(s). Such herb–drug combinations can produce untoward effects when the herb...

BACKGROUND Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic, itching skin disease, and conventional therapies offer inadequate symptom management. Patients with AD are increasingly turning to Chinese medicine. OBJECTIVE We systematically evaluated the clinical evidence of the efficacy and safety of oral Chinese herbal medicine for AD. METHODS Searches were conducted on major electronic databases using t...

RATIONAL Research suggests that increased consumption of herbal drugs is raising important public health concerns such as safety issues that may involve adverse effects and herb-drug interactions. The main objective of this study is to investigate the role of Pharmacists in herbal drug information dissemination. METHOD We investigated the demographics, knowledge, attitude and practices regard...

BACKGROUND Many randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of herbal interventions have been conducted in the ASEAN Communities. Good quality reporting of RCTs is essential for assessing clinical significance. Given the importance ASEAN placed on herbal medicines, the reporting quality of RCTs of herbal interventions among the ASEAN Communities deserved a special attention. OBJECTIVES To systematica...

Introduction: The addition of herbs into hot sesame oil could increase the oil-pulling efficiency of sesame oil. The aim of present study was to modify the proportion of herbs and sesame oil with the addition of other ingredients including menthol, camphor, and borneol and improve the medicinal properties and the scent of the oil. Methods: Macerated herbal oil was prepared by heat extraction of...

It is estimated that the U.S. population spends between $4 billion and $5 billion annually on herbal medicines. (1,2) Between 1990 and 1997, the use of herbal remedies in the U. S. population increased from 2.5% in 1990 to 12.1% in 1997. (1) In 1998, it was estimated that 15 million adults concurrently take herbal remedies and vitamins along with prescription medications. (1) In addition, patie...

Ten years have passed since Directive 2004/24/EC regulating herbal medicinal products across the EU were published. The directive created the Committee on Herbal Medicinal Products within the European Medicines Agency whose remit includes the creation and publishing of official EU monographs on herbal medicinal products. These monographs include the official uses of the products and their evide...

BACKGROUND Little is known about use of herbal medicines by older Mexican Americans. The objective of this study was to determine the characteristics among older Mexican Americans that correlate with use of herbal medicines. METHODS We administered a cross-sectional regional sample survey, the 1993-1994 Hispanic Established Populations for the Epidemiologic Study of the Elderly of Mexican Ame...