Herbal Product Regulations

Officinal plants and their products have great social and economic consequences, and today they are used in four principal sectors: food, cosmetics, health and medicine. In 2001 sales of herbal products exceeded US $337 millions. The medicinal use of the herbaI drugs, Phytotherapy, is differently controlled in different countries, but with only marginal differences because phytotherapeutic products must possess quality, safety and efficacy. The use of herbs as health foods, as well as food supplements, complicates the formulation of regulations by countries throughout the world. The increasing supply of herbal products to international markets makes it necessary for international organizations, such as the World Health Organization (WHO) to develop standards relative to their commercialization throughout the world.