Hi,  in my opinion, we cannot say that natural products (primary and secondary metabolites that are produced by living organisms) are safer compared to regular drugs (synthesized or semi synthetic chemicals ); it could be (secondary) metabolites are very toxic, certain plants could be very highly toxic. Certain animal (e.g. snake, spider) could produce highly toxic toxin. Herbal drugs/Medicinal plants could be safer due to its relatively  low concentrations of (secondary) metabolites. Best regards

Not sure,

Some homeopatic treatment agents are safer depending on indication. But we should make general assumption as some natural products could be also highly dangerous with severe side effects. 

Perhaps not. Digitalis has a very narrow therapeutic range. Also remember that many synthetic compounds have been produced to bind to a specific target; many natural products have less specific binding to a target leading to side-effects. Natural products are useful for suggesting potential chemical structures that could lead to a useful medicine after modification to improve binding and specificity.

It is hard to say that natural products  are safer compared to synthetic drugs unless comparative toxicity is evaluated. No doubt, mostly homeopathic medicine are natural products but some of them are really highly toxic even then they are used as homeopathic drug because of their lower concentration .Every drug whether it comes from natural or synthetic origins ,they have their side effects. It could be also possible that  the efficacy or toxicity of  a particular natural product may be due to the presence of impurity . Thus, it is pertinent to identify the active principle. Once active principle is identified and  activity is established the toxicity data should be generated .In case product is toxic the structure can also be modified for better efficacy and reduced  toxicity..

Hi, Siti Nur Aqilah Makshut,

In my opinion, all synthetic drugs and natural ones are chemical substance. Both may have beneficial or negative effects. these effects depend on the dose of each drug. This is very important. While, the combination of the chemical substances (in natural products) may lead to synergistic or ........

The conclusion all are safe or toxic depend on the dose of each drug.

For example: 

1-Vitis is a fruit, but if you eat too much (high dose), it will make great problem in blood glucose level and consciousness of the person.

2-Reported, the induction of fatty liver can be done by normal diet containing 20% fructose.

Hi!

Of course, in most of the cases, natural products are safer than regular allopathic drugs because they do not have side effects in most of the cases (exceptions are always there for anything). But if you see in the long run, the natural products are more beneficial compared to regular drugs because they eliminate the disease from its root.

The right and proper concentration of natural products is also very important because excess of anything is injurious to health.

Regards,

Abhishek 

Yes natural Products are more safer than synthetic drugs and closer to the nature of man but their dosage limit need to be maintained

Not every natural products are safer, there is few exceptions e.g Many alkaloids are Sedative and addictive  e.g. Nicotine, Caffeine, morphine etc. Many proteins are part of  poisons (animal venoms). Even some carbohydrates/polysaccharides of mushrooms have toxic effect. But this is the one side of story. During the evolution process our biological system adopted nature and natural products. We are optimised ourselves for these phytochemicals. Synthetic drugs  are mostly toxic, only their toxicity is either hided or not properly proved. Most of the Natural Products are comparatively more safer if properly studied. 

NATU\RAL PRODUCTS OR SYNTHETIC DRUGS CAN BE EQUALLY TOXIC OR SAFE. IT DEPENDS ON THE DOSES ADMINISTERED AND THE TOXICITY OF THE SPECIFIC DRUG OR  NATURAL PRODUCT PRDUCT. 

i think it depends on phytochemical constituent of n.p. because some plantscontain highly toxic constituent. another factor is the doses, in what amount we are using n.p all these things depend.

I completely agree with Prof.Newmeyer's views.

According to Ayurevda if whole dvrug is given then there is lesser chance of side effects. Some drugs are given after assesing the body type eg. intake of Semicarpus anacardium in Piita Prakriti (Hot temperment), casuses heamturia, burning micturition, blisters in skin etc. 

I do not think we can make general assumption like that. There are some natural products (venom, herbals etc) which could be highly toxic or some synthetic one could be also highly toxic. One should look at the therapeutic index, acute/chronic toxicity, LD50 of the material of the interest. First thing is first İf it is harming the body then it is not considered as drug. we know that there are so many manmade compounds can have side effects but if  those adverse effects are minimal and negligible that its therapeutic effect then it should be considered medicine. So this is "up on the air" question that we can not make general assumption. Then I can raise a question;

İs the tobacco more dangerous than Bonzai or vice versa. I believe regardless where it is coming from if it is harming the body it is not SAFE...

I completely agree with Ashraf Hamed opinion. We cant say what product safe if we know only natural it or synthetic.

It is necessary to do assays to check it following OECD, for instance. To believe that natural products is safer than synthetic molecules is not true. 

Whilst it is clear that the particular toxicological properties of the active is the relevant factor in relation to toxicity, and that it is easy to find examples of highly toxic poisons in nature as well as with "regular" medicines (of which many are plant based), what is not being discussed is the variations in regulatory oversight for natural vs "regular drugs". Regular drugs will require high levels of CMC data and testing to ensure purity and that the active is within the parameters indicated on the bottle, this is not the case often with more natural remedies. There is also less requirement for clinical testing for natural medicines to become available, which could conceivably be an issue in relation to chemical interactions, precautions or contraindications. Thus, both the level of reporting / manufacturing purity and lower level of safety data should most definitely be taken into account when deciding on safety. 

Whether Natural products are safer than  regular drugs can only be judged when their LD50 is compared. It is not for sure that all natural products are safer  than regular drugs.Thus , primary information regarding  safety of products is necessary to have their LD50.

No. Natural products can be so toxic than synthetic drugs. Hence, it is paramount to evaluate safety according to international guidelines.

Natural products are not safer than synthetic products. There are two main reasons behind it.

1. These products doesn't undergo clincial studies as compared to their counterparts. That puts a question mark on their safety and efficacy this is because there are no specific guidelines to test these products.

2. These product contains multiple ingredients and each ingredient contains multiple chemical constituents and each chemical constituent have multiple pharmacological activity which makes it difficult to access their therapeutic effect.

there is no evidence that natural drugs are safe or regular drugs are more safer but with this regards regular drugs have welln defined magin of safety and efficacy as they are brough in to market after conducting lot of clinical and preclinical studies

moreover natural drugs dont have any post marketing survellance even

Regards

Manik Chhabra PharmD