Medicinal herbs are moving from fringe to mainstream use with greater numbers of people seeking remedies and health approaches free of the side-effects caused by synthesized chemicals. The crude medicinal herbs for this industry have long been grown and traded in many countries around the world. The herbal, raw materials are comprised of dried plant materials in the form of roots, barks, flowers, and fruits. Besides being important to consumers of herbal remedies, the quality of medicinal herbs is also vital to growers and suppliers of these crude botanicals. It is reasonable to expect that herbs of superior quality will sell for the premium price.
Alternative systems of medicine have become increasingly popular in recent years. The efficacy of some herbal products is beyond doubt, the most recent examples being Artemisia annua (i.e., artemesinin: wormwood derivative used to target cancers), Silymarin marianum (i.e., silymarin: seeds of the milk thistle effective in treating diseases of the liver) and Taxus brevifolia (i.e., taxols: pacific yew derivative that exhibits antimitotic activity and is used for treating refractory tumors). A number of recent findings have focused on the adverse effects of herbal products. Hepatotoxicity, nephrotoxicity and most critically, drug interactions with synthetic medicines are common in herbal practice. In light of above discussion, consumers and clinicians should be increasingly cautious about following the latest trends in medicinal herbs and be alert to the potential risks herbal medicines pose.
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