We always hear that herbal medicines don't have side effects beacuse they are natural. However, the synthetic drugs are associated with a lot of side effects. How true is this statement?
No!
Please go through the following RG link.
Article The Growing Use of Herbal Medicines: Issues Relating to Adve...
No, it is not totally correct. Herbal medicines have side effects too. Synthetic drugs are either isolated from natural source or synthesized. The basic concept between these two system of medicine is that synthetic medicines are meant to be act on receptors specifically that's why it acts faster than other system of medicine. So medicine which act faster shows side effects faster similarly medicines acts slowly having side effects slowly. But every drugs having its side effect either mild or severe.
Not always, it depends on the Tox component of the composition and particularly on the impurities of the Herbal medicine.
a categorical triple NO
1) the safety of any medicine, herbal or not, depend of its dosage
2) herbal medicines are often a mixtures of medicinal plants, while one herbal medicine may be effective and harmless some other compound may be very toxic
3) herbal medicine may contain pollutants or germs that are unsafe for the patient
NO, the statement containing term - "Always" is not appropriate, if you consider yourself science person. you may understand by this that, definition of a parallel line is like- two lines that the cross each other at infinity, and getting precisely to the topic, there may be other compounds that may cause even adverse effect. so better to look for the purified compound, rather than direct natural extract or any such herbal product.
read Chr. Raetsch‘s handbook : Enzyklopaedie der psychoaktiven Pflanzen.
Because of juristic restrictions, it was only possible to print it in Switzerland.
Nope. Its depend on its composition. Moreover, Many unwanted materials associated with this.
Hi
herbal medicine also have side effects, although it is natural but found some materials, the person is sensitive to it.
No, herbal medicine cannot always be safe just because it is natural. This is due to the fact that the herbal material can be adulterated during the course of preparation or otherwise. More so, there's also issue of dose dependant formulation, as higher dosage above the required level can leads to toxicity.
No!
Please go through the following RG link.
Article The Growing Use of Herbal Medicines: Issues Relating to Adve...
Herbal medicines may produce negative effects such as allergic reactions, rashes, asthma, headaches, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhoea that can range from mild to severe.
https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/ConditionsAndTreatments/herbal-medicine
No, there were many victims, dur to wrong consuming of such natutal herbal materials...
Not always. There are alot of factors that compromise the safety of herbal medicine. Apart from that some herbals are toxic in nature, the issue to do with how the herbal was processed, the area which the herbal was planted also affects the safety.
Medical history of the patient also affects the safety. That is to say if the patient is taking some other drugs which may interact with the herbal product.
So I would say herbals are not that safe.
Nope, even the most wondered food substance turmeric has adverse effects.
There is no effect without side effect. Unwanted effects can also occur. As a rule, however, the expected side effects of properly used medicinal plants are lower than those of synthetic medicinal products. Medicinal plants are multitarget drugs, while the synthetics are usually monotarget drugs. Multitarget drugs tend to come with significantly lower doses of the individual substances than synthetic monotarget drugs. The synergy of the contained phytochemicals brings the advantage.
Yvonne Thoonsen I think your statement is incorrect. Very many modern drugs (synthetic drugs) contain multiple active compounds and so are "multitarget drugs" as medicinal plants.
Consider these: morphine is a natural product. A cigarette is a fully herbal drug...
I also said not all synthetic medicines are monotargets, but usually they are, at least in the field of veterinary medicine and only in this area I speak. For example, our ACE inhibitors contain only one substance such as ramipril or a common antiemetic containing only maropitant as an active ingredient, etc.
But if I choose a crattaegus extract, for example, then not only the lead substance, but a variety of different substances are contained there.
The morphine products we use in medicine are chemically modified derivatives of natural substances. Although they were of plant origin, at least they are no longer considered a phytotherapeutic.
Maybe the following Definition can help to understand what i mean
Zitation: "Definition Rational phytotherapeutics (phytopharmaceuticals: from - greek - phyton for plant and pharmacona for pharmaceuticals) are medicines that contain, in contrast to chemically defined pharmaceuticals, as well as isolated, chemically identified, plant pure substances, predominantly standardized and / or standardized extracts."
My English isn't perfect, I possibly may not always express myself in a very understandable way.. I´am sorry.
For an herbal remedy to be safe, its ingredients have to be properly identified, collected properly at the right time, prepared properly, dosed properly, and prescribed properly--for the right patient, with other drugs being taken considered, with allergies considered, etc. The amount of active ingredient in a plant varies wildly with growing conditions, which make standardizing recipes and remedies tricky. The home practitioner has to be very knowledgeable and very skilled. Over-the-counter herbal remedies must consider all the same factors. Not to mention that they may or may not have the ingredients they purport to, in an amount sufficient to be useful but not harmful. The laws regarding "supplements" are much looser than those for "drugs."
Herbal drugs do have side effects but less than chemically synthesized drugs.
Mahendra Pal I disagree, the amount of side effects is in relation to the drug dose herbal or synthesised. Actually herbal drugs may well have more side effects since, not (generally) being made up of a single therapeutic substance, require substantial dosage, however this means also to intake multiple ingredients that may cause unwanted side effects.
Dear Dioli,
Please send some published papers mentioning that herbal drugs have more side effects than chemically synthesized compounds.
With regards,
Prof.Dr.Mahendra Pal
Dear Pal
Please send some published papers mentioning that herbal drugs have LESS side effects than chemically synthesized compounds.
With regards,
Dr. Maurizio Dioli
10 minutes google search on safety of herbal drugs found these references:
1. P. George 2011, Concerns regarding the safety and toxicity of medicinal plants - An overview. J. Applied Pharmaceutical Science 01 (06); 40-44
2. H. Nasri 2013. Toxicity and safety of medicinal plants. J. HerbMed Pharmacology
3. Boullata J.I., Nace A.M., 2000. Safety issues with herbal medicine. Pharmacotherapy. 20(3): 257–269
4. Ernst E., 2007. Herbal medicines: balancing benefits and risks. Novartis Found. Symp. 282: 154–72, 21.2–8
5. Mcrae S., 1996. Elevated serum digoxin levels in a patient taking digoxin and Siberian ginseng. Can Med Assoc J, 15:293–295
6. Philomena George, Merlyn Diana A.S, et al . 2009. Hazardous Effects of Medicinal Plants. In Proc. International Conference on Innovations and Challenges in Biotechnology. 183- 187.
7. Rowin J., Lewis S.L. 1996. Spontaneous bilateral subdural hematomas associated with chronic Ginkgo biloba ingestion. Neurology. ;46:1775–1776
8. WHO-IARC Monographs on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks to Humans. (Some Traditional Herbal Medicines). Vol. 82, 2002 IARC Press Lyon, France.
9. World health organization. Adverse Drug Reaction Database. Uppsala Sweden. 36. Institute of Safe Medication Practices Medication Safety Alert. June 4 1997 V 01.2 No.ll.
10. Karimi A, Majlesi M, et al. 2015. Herbal versus synthetic drugs; beliefs and facts. J Nephropharmacol, 4(1): 27-30.
11. Posadzki P, Watson LK, Ernst E., 2013. Adverse effects of herbal medicines: an overview of systematic reviews. Clin Med (Lond). 13(1):7-12.
Dear Dioli,
Please read the review article of Philomena,G. (2011). Concerns regarding the safety and toxicity of medicinal plants- An overview. Journal of Applied Pharmeceutical Science 1(6): 40-44.
About 8% of hospital admissions in the United States of America are due to adverse or side effects of synthetic drugs. Approximately 100,000 people each year die due to these toxicities. Deaths or hospitalizations due to herbs are so rare that they are hard to find.
With kind regards,
Prof.Dr.Mahendra Pal
Founder Director
Hi
not always is safe, because of some plants have poison materials in them structure.
Dear Pal,
Please read the review article:
Ekor, M. (2014). The growing use of herbal medicines: issues relating to adverse reactions and challenges in monitoring safety. Front.Pharmacol. 4:177.
In particular pay attention to the article following statements:
“Although some herbal medicines have promising potential and are widely used, many of them remain untested and their use also not monitored”
“It is also common knowledge that the safety of most herbal products is further compromised by lack of suitable quality controls, inadequate labeling, and the absence of appropriate patient information”
“.. the common misconception that natural products are not toxic and are devoid of adverse effects often lead to improper use and unrestrained intake and this has also resulted in severe poisoning and acute health problems. This misconception is not limited to the developing countries. It also exists in highly developed countries, where the general public often resorts to “natural” products without any proper awareness or information on the associated risks, particularly in the event of excessive or chronic use (UNESCO 2013)”
“The general perception that herbal remedies or drugs are very safe and devoid of adverse effects is not only untrue, but also misleading. Herbs have been shown to be capable of producing a wide range of undesirable or adverse reactions some of which are capable of causing serious injuries, life-threatening conditions, and even death. Numerous and irrefutable cases of poisoning have been reported in the literature (Vanherweghem and Degaute,1998; Cosynsetal.,1999; Ernst,2002)”
“ Recently, Auerbach et al (2012) reported an association between traditional herbal medicine use and the development of liver fibrosis among study participants in Uganda. A number of Chinese herbal medicines and other herbal medicines from different parts of the world have also been implicated in cases of poisoning. Many of them have been shown to contain toxic compounds which are capable of react- ing with cellular macromolecules including DNA, causing cellular toxicity, and/or genotoxicity”
“There is no doubt that the increasing cases of poisoning associated with the use herbal medicines in many parts of the world in recent times, is necessitating the need to ensure thorough toxicity assessment alongside active pharmacovigilance on these products in order to promote their safe use and protect public health (Zhou et al 2013)
“Issues relating to adverse reactions in recent times are also becoming more vivid, increasing in prevalence and no longer debatable because of previous misconception of regarding or categorizing herbal medicinal products as “safe” because they are derived from “natural” source. The reality is that “safety” and “natural” are not synonymous. Therefore, regulatory policies on herbal medicines need to be standardized and strengthened on a global scale”.
With kind regards
Dr. Maurizio Dioli
Just because something is natural does not mean that it is good for you. While natural medicine can be good you should be careful when using it.
Dear Mahendra Pal you never replied to my last comment of 21st of June. Thank you. Your silence is a clear endorsement to the correctness of my statement.
With kind regards.
Dr Maurizio Dioli
Dear
not all plants, the components as oleandrin and oleandrigenin are toxic found in plant.
Natural does not mean safe and safe doesn not necessarily mean natural.
Natural does not automatically mean better. Many things in nature are very dangerous.
My grand mother had different herbal medicine in her medicine busket. The amount of medicine, the shape and time of intake was important. Moreover the age of the one who take the medicine was also an important factor. She used to advise for 3 intakes for a remedy. I remember that always she was successful.
she was both a medical doctor and a medicine doctor. She was experimental doctor. God bless the shazinab.
Have you noticed how many shelves at your local drugstore are taken up these days by vitamins and herbal supplements? Studies show that more than half of Americans take some sort of dietary supplement, including products with unusual names like gingko biloba and valerian.
Herbal medicine are quite less toxic than synthetic one. However, they may produce some side effects like nausea, headache etc.
Not necessarily safe. All Herbal medicines do not have to go through the testing that drugs do.
Every synthetic substance that enters the body is harmful. They may not be harmful to the young organism. But it can show its effects after a few years. The harmful effects of substances derived from natural plants are less. But they also need to know the norm.
Herbal medicines contain "phyto"chemicals. No chemical is 100% safe to everybody in every case. Side effects can and will occur, if not by the components in the herb itself, then by the insecticides and contaminants. Having said that, many herbs have been used for ages as foods and most people believe things you can eat as foods are safe. So when an herb is considered "GRAS" (generally recognized as food), it is "trusted" to be safe.
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