Herbal Medicinal Products

In personal health, there is a big lifetime decision to be made. Presented with two basic options, pharmaceutical medicines and herbal medicines, the choice must be made when the situation of illness arrives, which form of medication will be taken? First, the differences between the two types of medicines must be studies and understood by the user. According to the U.S Food and Drug Administration, a drug is defined as, “A substance (other than food) intended to affect the structure or any function of the body” (Center…). With this in mind, both herbs and scientifically produced medications are to be considered ‘drugs’.

Herbal medicine is the use of natural plant substances to treat and prevent illness. Throughout America herbalism is not deemed “scientific” by most regulations but herbalists and few medical professionals argue that with the right knowledge of the use and effects of using herbal remedies could possibly be safer to use and deemed supplementary beneficial. It is time to delve deeper into the process of herbal medicines and more specific details on the healing processes. There is no denying that the evolution of medicine has come a long way through the use of science and manufacturing, but where did it all begin?

Traditional and modern medicine share the same curative objective which implies that they have similarities from a general point of view. Both medicine is using plants extracts but in different aspects. Though traditional medicine is based on the use of plants and herbs, modern medicine uses many herbs and plant derivative based on biological and chemical aspect as well. Many common drugs are derived from plant-based sources directly or indirectly. Moreover, traditional and modern medicine have both side effects. They could be harmful or ineffective for a human body if the dosage is not well calculated, in this case we run the risk of over or under dose. Also, many side effects can occur from the interaction of both medicine. Traditional and

Since 1994 when herbal medicines became more widespread the Food and Drug Administration has had multiple issues with pesticides germs, and other foreign substances in these products. Furthermore, they have also had the trouble of manufacturers disclosing or including ingredients that are not on the drugs since the rules regarding these types of drugs are not as strict as that of synthetic drug regulations. Additionally, the supplements made in these factories are not required or even standardized to ensure

The clear definition of an herbal supplement is defined by The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA) as a product not a drug. The product contains vitamins, minerals, amino acids, herbs, and dietary constituents for use to supplement the diet (“Using Dietary Supplements Wisely,” 2014). Like medications, dietary supplements exert both negative and positive effects to the body. Supplements may improve health but they also produce the potential harmful if interacting with certain drugs. For this reason, dietary supplements are regulated by FDA to ensure both safety and effectiveness

I do not agree with the Food and Drug Administration’s current policy of not testing herbal remedies. In my opinion, there are natural compounds out there that can be very beneficial to the public, however they are not supported due to this policy. Alternatives to current pharmacology methods should be looked at. A drug is a substance that introduced to animals or humans that creates a desired effect or response, both chemically and biologically. Drugs can be both positive and negative. Ginkgo biloba is a drug in the fact that it may cause a biological effect once introduced to a human or animal. However, given the current popular definition of a drug, Ginkgo biloba is not a drug because it is classified as a herbal remedy. Given

Excipient can help to improve and enhance bioavailability, stability of the drug and much more. All drugs are poisons and they usually taste bitter or unpleasant and sometimes they are hard to swallow therefore, excipients is helping with improving the taste of medication and also assisted with swallowing a solid form. Although the safety aspect it, has underestimate but it is clear the benefit of using excipients are far greater than the risk concerned, in all types of drug formulation. Excipient should have specific chemical and physical characteristics, to optimise the formulation’s performance throughout the manufacturing processing phase and when given to patients [1]. With all the benefit of using excipients in drug formulation, however, some excipients have the potential to cause adverse effects on sensitive patients [5]. The quality of excipients are just as important as active pharmaceutical ingredients because a good quality of excipient will remove any impurity during drug formation and also reduced the cost of manufacturing processing phase and eliminating any toxicity or any contamination from a drug product thus, this can be achieved by practice good manufacturing practices (GMP). The toxicity or impurity of drug product has serious effects on patients and the are many studies are

In a recent study many generic medicines showed significant differences from their branded counterparts during a dissolution test. An invitro

drug reference standard is a standardized substance which is used as a measurement base for similar substances. Where the exact active substances of a new drug are not known, a reference standard provides a calibrated level of biological effects against which new preparations of the drug can be compared. drug reference solutions and patient education materials put the best available information into the hands of clinicians and patients. They supply critical information regarding dosage, efficacy, interactivity and allergies, even suggesting alternate therapies as appropriate. Drug reference Standards are highly characterized physical specimens used in testing by pharmaceutical and related industries to help ensure the identity, strength, quality,

3.1. HPLC Profiles of BGE. To investigate the stability of the BGE water decoction, we repeated the same extraction step was repeated times to obtain BGE and then determined the berberine hydrochloride content in BGE was detected by HPLC analysis and at a dectection wavelength of 203 nm with a C18 column (Fig. 1). The content of ginsenosides such as ginsenoside Rg5, Rk1, and Rh4 in BGE are summarized in Table 1. These unique ginsenosides are nonexistent in white ginseng. The major ginsenosides, including Rb1, Rb2, Rc, and Rd in white ginseng can be transformed to minor ginsenoside Rg3, by and than then ginsneoside Rg3 is converted to Rg5 and Rk1 by heat-treatmentheating (1). In particular, delycosylated minor ginsenosides have more pharmaceutical activities than major ginsenosides (2).

With these conflicting reports it is difficult for a consumer to make an educated decision when choosing if or what herbal supplement to purchase. There is little information available to consumers in the United States that has come from an impartial third party. Rather, the majority of information is made available from manufacturers. There needs to be regulation from an outside source that is not interested in the monetary benefits from the herbal market. Although herbal remedies and dietary supplements can be beneficial to many Americans, the United States needs to implement a program to analyze, research, and regulate what herbs are in supplements, and their acceptable use.

Identifying the herbal material uses herbal material monographs in British pharmacopoeia. Guideline on herbal extracts is available in “Guidance on Equivalence of Herbal Extracts in Complementary Medicines” to clarify the quality standards (TGA, 2015).

Abstract – Throughout history, medical properties have been used by many civilizations. Many of the medications that are available in our pharmacies are plant based. The discovery of the antimalarial effects of qinghao provides a new foundation for the development of antimalarial plant based medications. The research being made by Youyou Tu has led to evidence that the Ming Dynasty had discovered qinghao as a natural remedy centuries ago.

Looking back at the 1800’s, the life expectancy of the average adult has nearly doubled in the last two hundred years. At birth, the life expectancy in the 19th century was a meager forty years. Today, the average human is expected to live even to or beyond eighty years old. While factors such as sanitation, eating habits and general health knowledge have all drastically changed, our longer lives can usually be contributed to one thing: the development of medicine. From the breakthrough discovery of germs and viruses to the development to new antibiotics and vaccines, a once lethal disease such as measles has been reduced a 99% since 1963. However, in countries like China, traditional practices, otherwise known as Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), that are over two thousand years old are still widely used today. Herbal remedies known as zhong yao (中药) are made and sold around the southern Asian continent, and the practice of acupuncture is also done all over the world. Tai chi, a form of martial art developed both for self defense and the improvement of health is a popular recreational activity for many in all demographics. On the other hand, western medicine has made great improvements over its ancient methods. Surgical procedures such as amputation, anesthesia and transplantation have all branched off discoveries European scientists have strived to make during the Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment. Deviating from natural ways of healing, the west is focused

Radix Paeoniae Alba (RPA), a well-known Chinese herbal, (‘Bai-Shao’ in Chinese) has been widely used in Chinese Medicine for thousands of years. It is made from the root of P. lactiflora after boiling in water and peeling off the bark (China Pharmacopoeia Committee, 2010). Its constituents have been recognized as valuable traditional herbal medicines used for the treatment of diseases with a long history in TCM (Fang et al., 2009). Empirical evidence suggests that various peony root preparations have broad therapeutic benefits for pain, muscle spasm, inflammation, menstrual dysfunction, and neurodegenerative disorders, stroke (Wu 1985; Wu et al. 2010; Guo et al.2012). These therapeutic benefits are believed to be mainly derived from its major constituents that possess multiple pharmacological properties, in particular neuroprotective effects. To date, more than 15 constituents have been identified from this Chinese herbal material, including the isomers paeoniflorin (PF) and albiflorin (AF), are the main representative monoterpene glycosides (structures see Fig. 1).