Towards rational regulation and legislation of herbal medicines

Abstract

Though modern medicine is well developed in most of the world, large sections of the population in developing countries still rely on heral medicines and other natural products for their primary care. In recent years public interest in industrialized countries has increased greatly towards the natural therapies with the expanding use of medicinal plants and herbal medicine. Traditional medicinal products have evolved against widely different ethnological, cultural, climatic, geographical and even philosophical backgrounds; nevertheless they face many regulatory challenges in ensuring their safety and efficacy. The efforts of WHO in the development of modern guidelines in this field have been very helpful in recognition of the role of herbal remedies in health care and in supporting their potential use in national health care system in different parts of the world.