Herbal Medicine

I went to an herbal medicine plantation in Seremban today. It makes me feels so wanted to write this post now even though I’m very tired already. I’ve listen to a talk about herbal medicine given by a person who have done a lot of researches on herbal medicine and he named himself as ‘Professor in Herbal Medicine’. The talk was last for 40mins-1 hour. There are many points that I’m agree of, but more points that I’m disagree of. As I am a future pharmacist, I feel that I have a responsible to correct the misconceptions about herbal medicine.

First of all, herbal medicines are obtained from herbal plant. So, these medicines are from the natural source. Since it’s obtained from natural source, it’s safe to consume and free from side effects. Agree? Let’s spend 10 seconds to think about it.

The professor had recommended an herbal plant that can help in heart problem. So, I asked him whether there is any side effect of the plant. He answered me so definitely that the consuming the herbal plant does not brings any side effect. I replied with a smile and did not continue further. Dear all, come back to the question I’ve asked above. If you do agree with that, I would like to tell you that you are absolutely wrong. There are no medicines that are free from side effects, this includes all conventional medicines and herbal medicines.

I’m sure that everyone is familiar with ginseng. Ginseng is well known in the Chinese community that is able to restores, builds ups and maintains the whole body. However, high incidences of side effects were reported with the use of ginseng, which includes diarrhoea, imsomnia, and hypertension.

St John’s Wort is another common herbal medicine (probably not that common in Asia) that is a widely used in the treatment of mild to moderate depression. St John’s Wort is found to interact with a large number of medicines such as warfarin, oral contraceptives, theophyllin and digoxin. This herbal medicine causes a change in our liver enzymes and affects the metabolism of other medicines and may lead to failure of treatment. It’s very important to consult the opinion of the healthcare professionals and avoid St John’s Wort if that cannot be taken with your other medications.

It is important to know that herbal medicines are classified as food and they are controlled by the food law, not the medicine law. They are not as strictly controlled as the licensed medicines. These products can make claims about their benefits to health without the need of proving their efficacy. It is notable that the active ingredient of herbal medicine that is responsible for the claimed effects is often unknown. In addition, the percentage of active ingredients can vary between different brands. As I said, these products are not that strictly controlled, their safety is not guaranteed. In the context of safety perspective, I would say probably the conventional medicines are much safer. The conventional medicines are well tested before they can be licensed and there are so much safety data available.

The main reason that many people are taking herbal medicine is because they believed that these medicines can bring benefits to their health. However, would you still take the herbal medicine if their safety is not guaranteed? The majority of the population do not required health supplement if they take a healthy balanced diet. As you can obtain all nutrients from a healthy balanced diet, why do you need supplements?

So, my recommendation is, it’s important to practice healthy balanced diet. You don’t have to risk your life or waste your money on supplements if you practiced a healthy balanced diet.