Herbal and traditional medicines pharmacovigilance for holistic treatment

Abstract

Compared to allopathic medicines or chemically synthesized drugs, there is a growing use of natural compounds and supplements in herbal medicine to treat various diseases as they are safe and devoid of side effects. Though, this is not completely true as many cases of the detrimental impact of herbal or traditional medicine have been reported. Herbal medicines contain unpurified plant portions or extracts which may have these side effects. How effective are the drug molecules derived from natural products, or how destructive are the undesirable compounds that must be investigated? Natural extracts are mixtures of various components, and there is uncertainty about the mechanism of action of certain herbal medicines. There may be a lot of factors involved like placebo effects, and other molecules without which medicine may not work in isolation. In this study, we have reviewed the effects of herbal medicines, possible causes for their benefits like epigenetic changes, adverse drug reactions, and the provision to control these issues. We have also explored the measures being taken at the national and international levels. There have been efforts to minimize the issues related to side effects based on reporting from the population using remedies monitored by pharmacovigilance.