Herbal medicines take too much time to act, and the the entire process is very slow. They contain various ingredients which sometimes causes allergic reactions. Herbal medicines are not good for serious cases such as heart attack and broken bones. These medicines are also ineffective in sudden illnesses and accidents. Herbal remedies and medicine for certain disorders may have negative side effects, which often takes a long time to reveal. Herbal medications often interact with regular medicines. Herbs harvested in the wild are risky. Incorrect identification of the required herb can even lead to poisoning. Herbal medicines are also not properly regulated and so they do not carry any quality assurance.

Please also have a look at these useful references.

Chapter Health Benefits and Possible Risks of Herbal Medicine

Article Herbal Medicines Use: Remedies or Risks

Article Side effects of some medicinal plants

Disadvantages

Herbs are not without disadvantages, and herbal medicine is not appropriate in all situations. These are a few of the disadvantages to consider:

• Inappropriate for many conditions: Modern medicine treats sudden and serious illnesses and accidents much more effectively than herbal or alternative treatments. An herbalist would not be able to treat serious trauma, such as a broken leg, nor would he be able to heal an appendicitis or a heart attack as effectively as a conventional doctor using modern diagnostic tests, surgery, and drugs.
• Lack of dosage instructions: Another disadvantage of herbal medicine is the very real risks of doing yourself harm through self-dosing with herbs. While you can argue that the same thing can happen with medications, such as accidentally overdosing on cold remedies, many herbs do not come with instructions or package inserts. There's a very real risk of overdose.

APART FROM ABOVE

• Poison risk associated with wild herbs: Harvesting herbs in the wild is risky, if not foolhardy, yet some people try to identify and pick wild herbs. They run a very real risk of poisoning themselves if they don't correctly identify the herb, or if they use the wrong part of the plant.
• Medication interactions: Herbal treatments can interact with medications. Nearly all herbs come with some warning, and many, like the herbs used for anxiety such as Valerian and St. John's Wort, can interact with prescription medication like antidepressants. It's important to discuss your medications and herbal supplements with your doctor to avoid dangerous interactions.
• Lack of regulation: Because herbal products are not tightly regulated, consumers also run the risk of buying inferior quality herbs. The quality of herbal products may vary among batches, brands or manufacturers. This can make it much more difficult to prescribe the proper dose of an herb.

Arvind Singh Everything you say can be said about pharmaceutical medicine too. Most conventional medicines are not properly regulated either. Many more people die each year from pharmaceuticals "properly prescribed" than from misidentified herbs. Many people die from counterfeit drugs. Many people die from total lack of medicines too so better to get something that works (admittedly sometimes more slowly) than nothing at all. Pharmaceutical meds have way more side effects mostly because they are single chemicals. Herbal medicine usually has a diverse range of chemicals that would alleviate side effects of single chemicals (supposedly the "active" chemical) extracted from herbs.

Aparna Sathya Murthy I no longer hold to the view that gold standard, peer reviewed papers are the best way to determine efficacy. All too often, most papers are shown to be false within 5 years of publication. Check out John Iodannis work on this.

@ Jacob Simons

You can't deny from the fact that herbal medicines have certain drawbacks.The healing process of herbal medicines is slow, and they are not effective in dealing with emergency situations.

Risk of presence of heavy metals .

The main problems are:

1. Very very little study has been performed on actual efficacy, side effects, versatile nature of uses of herbs. Ayurveda was written thousands of years ago. Science, nature of man and disease, society and analysis procedures are changed a lot within that long period.

2. The phytochemicals among a plant vary with season, soil etc. It should be standarized brfor use as medicine.

thanks.

agree with@ Shibabrata Pattanayak

regards

Insightful contributions! This is not my area of specialty, but I rely heavily on herbal products.

Shibabrata Pattanayak That may be what you have been taught but it's not actually true. This book "Herbs and Natural Supplements, An Evidence-Based Guide" by Australians, Lesley Braun, PhD, BPharm, DipAppSciNat and Marc Cohen, MBBS(Hons), PhD, BMedSc(Hons), FAMAC, FICAE

will quickly show you that evidence is available. There are many pages of references for most herbs.

Dear Dr. Simons,

Sorry, your concepts are not correct, I suppose.

First, I was NEVER a student of Ayurveda. I have some idea about Modern Medicines, as I am basically a Veterinary graduate.

My Masters degree is on Immunology, with secondary subjects- Virology, Bacteriology and Biochemistry.

My Ph D is on Pharmacology with study area of Ethno Pharmacology and Microbiology.

So, I never"taught" herbal medicines as academic subject.

I am interested in the topic and so I am with the subject for last more than 20 years.

There are many many "evidences" in Ayurveda also, but the two points raised by me are still correct @ 100%.

I will be very much happy and surprised if these points can be answered in the said book or any other book in near future. Many researches are to be performed before reaching that stage.

But, to tell the truth, I DO NOT TRUST on such expectation just now, as I know a little about the actual stage of research on Herbal medicine. Study only on solvent extracted portion of dry plant parts is ONLY a part study to me.

Thanks.

you can find some informations in the following links:

https://herbs.lovetoknow.com/Advantages_and_Disadvantages_of_Herbal_Medicine

Article The advantages and disadvantages of a ‘herbal’ medicine in a...

https://www.healthguidance.org/entry/12415/1/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-herbal-medicine.html

https://blogs.baruch.cuny.edu/herbalandpharmaceuticalmedices/?page_id=39

The common concept about the herbal medicines among many people that they have no side effects and they don't get expired. On the other hand, the main disadvantages that there are no scientific studies/researches to support the effectiveness of many of them. So, in my opinion, it's better to use a herbal medicine, if needed, once there's a scientific evidence for that particular herbal medicine.

Herbal medicines can cause allergic reactions in some cases. Before resorting to herbal medication you need to ensure that you are not allergic to the particular herb that you will be consuming. Conventional medication can also cause allergic reactions, but they are usually taken upon prescriptions which is why the chances of allergic reactions are less.

I agree with Dr. Arvind answer, which that the herbal medicines take too much time to act, also herbal medicines are not good for serious cases such as heart attack and broken bones and they are also ineffective in sudden illnesses and accidents. But I like it more than the chemical drugs.

Best regards

The most disadvantaged aspect of herbal medicine is the lack of appropriate dosage of the medication. Abuse is inevitable in this aspect.

Inappropriate or unspecified measurement of dosage of the herbal medication.

Insincerity of some of the manufacturers and distributors. Labelling and dosage issues.

I have been a consulting medical herbalist for 20 years. They excel in the treatment of chronic complaints, but if you want a magic bullet generally speaking you should look elsewhere. I am mistrustful of magic cures and panaceas, but if you can support the body in its ability to heal itself the results can indeed be life changing for people. This should never be a question of one type of medicine v another. It is not a competition - we are all here for the benefit of our patients, and there is plenty of research to demonstrate how herbs work successfully alongside orthodox medicines, and in some cases enhance the drugs actions. Segun has touched on an important point ref the quality of OTC products which is hugely variable, ranging from good to appalling. Its not just herbs, but any food related products, and indeed much more that can cause allergic reactions. This is often a situation of the body mounting an inappropriate response rather than the fault of the herb itself. Therefore the common sense approach involves people with a history of allergy seeking professional advice whatever they are dealing with. Herbal medicines used appropriately can be of huge benefit in the sequelae of acute conditions such as heart attack, and there is a growing amount of research to underpin this. Broken bones need to be set. Once this has been done - check out the research on comfrey (AKA knit bone). Finally, due to the food like nature of whole plants, and the subsequently substantially differing pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic profiles of phytochemicals compared to orthodox drugs, dosages have a very different emphasis (please don't confuse standardised extracts with whole plant remedies, they are very different animals). This is a huge area of expert knowledge and the questions and comments here need a small book to address them adequately. 70% Of the worlds population rely upon herbs as their primary source of healthcare (See WHO stats). If it didn't work those guys would be in a lot of trouble. Anyone interested in finding out more, do check out the Heartwood Foundation course in Western Herbal Medicine. OK - hope all that helps.

All best wishes

Mary

Dear Dr. Jahangir Khan,

It is an important question. I think determining the dose of herbal drug is required to avoid any bad effect.

Although their effect is slow, it is firm. So, patience is required with homoeopathic medicines.

I’m a doctor and herbalist/ naturopath and i think that Marys reply was accurate factual and reflects my own understanding. There are assumptions and some prejudging of herbal products safety and efficacy. In most countries herbal safety, adulteration, good manufacturing processess etc. are governed by law. Herbal medicines and extracts or single constituents are all well researched in a biochemical, physiological, pathogenic and clinical frameworks. Like modern therapeutics agents, they can cause allergy, reactions and side effects , but relative to their modern counterparts, much less. Iatrogenic deaths in the USA are up in the hundreds of thousands a year (Ben Goldacre’s Bad Pharma)( the book ’Side Effect, Desth).

Both medical systems marry beatifullty and can be used safely if done so with knowledge and care. Herbal medicines like their modern pharmaceutical counterparts, need to be applied to the appropriate application and some resesrchers fail to design studies correctly including understanding the mechanism of action of a herb to hope to get valid results.

Upper limits of dosages still need to be respected unless in experienced hands or for short duration.

Overall their history amd modern uses are of huge benefit. herbalism has a central place in the midern era oc heslth care along side the modern therapeutics tgat it spawned.

Good question to understand disadvantages of herbs.

Thank you so much Dr. Mary Tassell and Dr. Emma Sandford for your informative contributions.

I don't trust herbal medicines, I prefer to use the herbals them selves like mint and garlic

Not all herbal medicines have no side effects. Some have even poisonous effects if the doses are not given under strict supervision by a physician or an experienced practitioner.

I think it is disadvantages for the abuse of humans

It depends on the type of herbal medicines and medical history of the patients.

It varies from case to case depending on the health of the person who takes it.

Yes, like anything else, common sense and care apply to the use of herbal remedies. Of course there are poisonous plants out there, just like there are venomous beasts. Just because something is natural doesn't always mean its safe (drink too much water and it will kill you).The alkaloid containing families of plants are of particular significance here (See schedule 20 herbs). They are however seriously in the minority compared to the majority of herbs used therapeutically, which have many centuries of use and understanding behind them. Know your plants well and show some respect. This isn't a question of does it work? this is a question of intelligent and informed use. As for dosage, pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic synergy are seriously at play in a whole plant, so it is not the concentration of any one phytochemical that is important so much as a broad cross section of key constituents which modify and attenuate the overall effect by means of many biochemical pathways. The use of whole plant remedies is a whole massive subject area which ranges from domestic medicine to the support of very serious conditions.The underlying basic philosophy of practice is different, being person centred rather than disease centred, and Emma makes a great point about the design of clinical trials, which are often inappropriate to measure outcomes of a system of medicine which involves frequently tailoring an adjusting a herbal prescription to fit the needs of the patient during the course of treatment. Ok, I think thats from me now. I hope that is helpful. All best wishes with your practice Emma. Mary

There are little disadvantages of herbal medicines if it is taken under medical care.

I follow answers

I agree with Dr. Shibabrata

I am exactly not sure but my basic human instinct demands from me that whatever i take it into my body, i should at least be knowing in a formal manner so requisite herbal related information after being approved by SOME concerned authorities must be ensured. Otherwise a lot many fake stuff will appear and will destroy the actual essence of herbal type medicine.

The second part is about prescription and we understand even too much of one food stuff or sometimes a fruit may not be good like people are allergic to egg, gluten and so many things. So a qualified person must administer or advise these stuff and that too in the dosage form.

Regards

Herbal medicines are often self administered. As a result, there is no dosage or warnings specified. When Herbal medicines are consumed with pharmaceutical drugs, the two can interact with each other resulting in injuries to health.

Herbal medicine does not work fast, so severity of disease may increase.

Herbal medicines have been in use for many centuries. Here are a few merits and demerits of herbal medicines. Today, people around the globe are giving preference to alternative medicines such as ayurveda, naturopathy, homeopathy and herbal medicine. There are little disadvantages of herbal medicines if it is taken under medical care.Herbal medicine is not appropriate in all situations. These are a few of the disadvantages to consider: inappropriate for many conditions like serious trauma, lack of dosage instructions represent a real risk of overdose, medication interactions: Herbal treatments can interact with medications. Herbal medicine contains various ingredients and we should be sure that our body agrees with the ingredients and it is not allergic. Finally, I end with the quotation from François de La Rochefoucauld: Most men have hidden properties like plants, which chance makes discover.

Reflections and Moral Sentences, 344 (1665)

Thanks

May contain more than one active ingredient so give more side effect, May required huge amount of it to meet market needs, May it mixed with other plants, So required purification and other of disadvantages.

I think you are not a herbalist. Hebal medicine is very different.

In that paradigm multiple synergistic ingedients work in concert towards the therapeutic aim. In particular one active principle may increase absorption or liver detixification of another. One might be antioxidant therefore protect the rest. Their differet activities are not necessarily associated with different side effects, since they act together. It is not the same as polypharmacy in pharmaceutical usage.

They are safe and it seems they have no side effects but they are very slow to cure the disease.

Lack of appropriate measurement that can lead to overdose of the medication.

I think herbal medicine is largely scientifically proven, inaccurate ... although there are many advantages and disadvantages of herbal medicines. Anyone considering using herbal medicines to treat health conditions should talk to a qualified health professional.

Most all the answers into the consideration of herbal medicines are therapeutic so it wont worth trying. But 90% herbal medicines are not therapeutic. Taking 1 course of herbal drug definitely nowhere to cure a illness or disease. The fundamental of phyto drug not intent to cure any disease. Phyto medicines, are preventive in nature and boost and support our body to fight back the infection. Neither like antibiotics are other sulfonamides etc., like drug to kill the causative agent nor like NSAIDS to suppress the inflammation by target action.

Most of the time herbal medicines will not work on body if the body have aggregated sugar, salt or acidic etc., conditions in the body. There is a reason, older times, before and during medication the patients under go process called ''dietetics''. In dietetics almost all non-vegetarian foods and foods from underground like potato, yam etc stopped completely through out the medication period. Most importantly before treatment they detoxifies the blood, liver and especially intestine. why all these things need? it is indeed to balance the vata pitta kapha. Otherwise any medication may not work on the body.

Herbal medicines above said conditions, boost your immunity to fight any kind of infection or illness. Also herbal active not work alone it need combination of actives to balance and support the body.

So, please forget the way we think about herbal and Ayurvedic medicines. Like it wont work, it need multi dose, no desired potency all these claims are because of misunderstanding about its basic mechanism of action. Herbal medicines not the one, I was stated getting fever, i gulped some NSAIDS or non NSAIDS pills morning my fever gone fantastic.... drugs. what about side effects?

Herbal medicines really work when it taken postulated way.

One other down side of herbal medicine is the uncertainty of the side effects. Since they are not always scientifically investigated, it is difficult to anticipate what side effects they may cause when used

Having several functions and containing a diverse chemical constituents reduces the credibility and increases the side effects

No problem with them

Lack of measurement for specific supplement.

Discouraged the extensive use otherwise lose of biodiversity will increase.

Probably more effective if used with consistancy for longer time.

The fact that something comes from plant or natural sources doesn't make it safe. A lot of the plants and natural substances are toxic. You might even poison yourself or give yourself a serious health problem. Caution must be exercised in using herbal medicines. Even if they are harmless, they might cause your condition to get worse, if proper medical treatment is not administered before it is too late. Some herbal remedies might be helpful to alleviate mild symptoms. However, a lot of the products that are sold in the market are not properly inspected for safety or efficacy, so if you are going to use some products, make sure to use ones that are produced by well-known and respected companies. I would advise against picking plants and concocting your own remedies, that is dangerous, unless you know what you are doing.