Herbal medicines : adverse effects and drug-herb interactions

Abstract

With the aim of moving away from the ‘synthetic’ world towards a more ‘organic’ world, patients are increasingly seeking herbal remedies to self-treat medical conditions. Most clinicians are oblivious to their patients’ use of herbal medicine. All medicinal agents have potentially unexpected effects including toxicity and interactions, and herbs are no different. Drug-herb interactions are based on the same pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic principles as drug-drug interactions. Herbal medicines do not need to be avoided, the only fundamental issue is that they should be considered as medicine and the adverse effects and potential interactions considered. Thus pharmacists and doctors should be better informed to minimise patient harm.