Assuring the quality & safety of herbal medicines—A dire need today to combat diseases
K. Mohammad, and A.N. Mazen
Book of Abstracts, Southeast Asia Symposium Quality and Safety of Fresh and Fresh Cut Produce Greater Mekong Subregion Conference on Postharvest Quality Management in Chains, August 3-5, 2009, Radisson Hotel, Bangkok, Thailand.
2009
บทคัดย่อ
The present world population is approximately seven thousand million i.e. 7 billion and with its current growth rate it is likely to reach 11.5 billion by the year 2020. This rise in population, inadequate supply of drugs in certain parts of the world, prohibitive cost of treatment for common ailments, side effects of several modern drugs in current usage and development of resistance to currently used drugs for infectious disease have lead to increased emphasis on the use of plant materials as source of medicines for the wide variety of human ailments.
Herbal medicines have considerable potential in global market. It is therefore required to increase its contribution to meet the growing demand by supplying high quality herbal medicinal products. With the ever growing commercialization in the field of herbal medicines, there has been an instant demand for quality control of the drugs used in this system. The studies in the identity, purity and quality of the genuine drugs will enhance information in checking the adulteration. A set of standards would not doubt deterrent on substitution and adulteration and also an aid for ‘Drug law Enforcement’
The present talk incorporates study of plants from farm to its form which is a dire need for all concerned to have a knowledge of good agricultural practices (GAP), good field collection practices (GFCP), good laboratory practices (GLP), current good manufacturing practices (CGMP), good clinical practices (GCP) and the possible adulterations. All modern instrumentation used for quality control studies are discussed with its usage, besides inadvertent contaminations special practical experiences have been described on intentional adulteration of synthetic chemicals frequently being used to increase the efficacy of herbal medicinal products (HMP).