The Herbal Medicines and the Importance of the Scientific Research

Herbal medicines, before appearing in the pharmacy’s as a medicine, should be required to undergo pharmacological and toxicological testing on animals and clinical trials in humans. Unfortunately, this is not usually the case. The cost of such an endeavour, especially for products that will not have patent protection, is perhaps the major reason for the lack of research on herbal medicines. Although approximately 13,000 plants are used therapeutically around the world, few have been studied in a systematic way. The situation may be improving. In the United States, where most herbal medicines are sold as dietary supplements without a physician’s prescription, companies themselves are beginning to conduct research on their products in order to regulate quality to avoid governmental regulation.