Lakshmana Rao Atmakuri et al.

/ Journal of Pharmacy Research 2010, 3(1),109-113

Review Article
ISSN: 0974-6943 Available online through
www.jpronline.info

Current Trends in Herbal Medicines

Lakshmana Rao Atmakuri*and Suneetha Dathi
*
Department of Pharmaceutical Analysis, Shri Vishnu College of Pharmacy,Vishnupur, Bhimavaram, A.P., India.

Received on: 20-09-2009; Revised on: 16-10-2009; Accepted on:15-12-2009

ABSTRACT
Herbal medicines make up an important component of the trend toward alternative medicine. Herbal medicine is becoming ever more popular
in today’s world as people seek out natural remedies. Herbal medicines have been used since the dawn of civilization to maintain health and
to treat various diseases. To compete with the growing pharmaceutical market, there is an urgency to utilize and scientifically validate more
medicinally useful herbal products. This article provides an overview of herbal medicines and aimed to explain the therapeutic efficacy of
various herbal medicines, adverse drug reactions, drug interactions, standardization and stability testing of herbal medicines, pharmacovigilance
and regulatory status of herbal medicines.

Keywords: Herbal medicines, standardization, stability testing, efficacy

INTRODUCTION

Herbal medicine, sometimes referred to as botanical medi- the number of herbal drug manufacturers. For the past few decades,
cine or herbalism, involves the use of plants or parts of plants, to treat herbal medicines have been increasingly consumed by the people
injuries or illnesses1. Herbal medicines are the study or use of medici- without prescription. Seeds, leaves, stems, bark, roots, flowers, and
nal herbs to prevent and treat diseases and ailments or to promote extracts of all of these have been used in herbal medicine over the
health and healing2. It is a drug or preparation made from a plant or millennia of their use. Herbal formulations have reached widespread
plants and used for any of such purposes. Herbal medicines are the acceptability as therapeutic agents like antimicrobial, antidiabetic,
oldest form of health care known to mankind3. There are numerous antifertility, antiageing, antiarthritic, sedative, antidepressant, anti-
herbal products available that claim to treat the symptoms of a wide anxiety, antispasmodic, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, anti-HIV,
range of problems, from depression to cold and flu. World Health vasodilatory, hepatoprotective, treatment of cirrhosis, asthma, acne,
Organization4 (WHO) has defined herbal medicines as finished, la- impotence, menopause, migraine, gall stones, chronic fatigue,
beled medicinal products that contain active ingredients, aerial or alzheimer’s disease and memory enhancing activities7. Herbal medi-
underground parts of the plant or other plant material or combina- cines have been documented for almost 4000 years. These medicines
tions. World Health Organization has set specific guidelines for the have survived real world testing and thousands of years of human
assessment of the safety, efficacy, and quality of herbal medicines. testing. Some medicines have been discontinued due to their toxicity,
WHO estimates that 80% of the world populations presently use while others have been modified or combined with additional herbs to
herbal medicine for primary health care. Exceptionally, in some coun- offset side effects. Many herbs have undergone changes in their
tries herbal medicines may also contain by tradition, natural organic uses. Studies conducted on the herbs and their effects keep chang-
or inorganic active ingredients which are not of plant origin. Herbal ing their potential uses.
medicine is a major component in traditional medicine and a common
element in ayurvedic, homeopathic, naturopathic and other medicine ADVANTAGES OF HERBALMEDICINES
systems5. Herbals are traditionally considered as harmless since they • Less cost
belong to natural sources6. The use of herbal medicine due to toxicity • Strength and effectiveness
and side effects of allopathic medicines, has led to sudden increase in • Better tolerance
• More safety
*Corresponding author. • Less side-effects
• Ready availability
Dr.Lakshmana Rao Atmakuri • Ecofriendly
Department of Pharmaceutical Analysis,
Shri Vishnu College of Pharmacy, DISADVANTAGES OF HERBAL MEDICINES
Vishnupur, Bhimavaram, A.P., India. • Not able to treat sudden illness and accidents
Tel.: + 91-98660 99916,
Telefax: +91-8816 250863 • Risk with self dosing
E-mail: dralrao@gmail.com • Difficulty in standardizations
Journal of Pharmacy Research Vol.3.Issue 1.January 2010 109-113
 Lakshmana Rao Atmakuri et al. / Journal of Pharmacy Research 2010, 3(1),109-113
USAGE AND PREPARATION dioica, Xanthium strumarium, Zea mays, Zingiber officinale13-16.

The use of herbal medicines in the right way provides effec- TREATMENT OF CANCER
tive and safe treatment for many ailments. The effectiveness of the
herbal medicines is mostly subjective to the patient8. The potency of Medicinal plant products exhibiting anticancer activity con-
the herbal medicines varies based on the genetic variation of the tinue to be the subject of extensive research aimed at the develop-
herbs, growing conditions of the herbs, timing and method of har- ment of drugs for the treatment of different human tumors. The me-
vesting of the herbs, exposure of the herbs to air, light and moisture, dicinal plants used for the treatment of skin cancer17 are, Acalypha
and type of preservation of the herbs. Some of the plants that make fruticosa, Alangium lamarki, Catharanthus roseus, Celastrus
up herbal medicines are cultivated and processed within the country paniculatus, Embelia ribes, Ficus glomerata, Ficus racemosa,
and others are imported from around the world. Raw materials for Ocimum basilicum, Plumbago zeylanica, Terminalia chebula,
herbal drugs may be derived from carefully cultivated plants or col- Tylophora indica, Wrightia tinctoria. The extracts used for the treat-
lected in the wild9. Herbal medicines are available in several forms and ment of breast cancer is Buthus martensi, Colla cornu, Herba
often require preparation before their use. They can be frequently epimedii, Fructus lycii, Radix angelicae, Radix bupleuri, Rhizoma
purchased in bulk form as dried plants, plant parts or loosely packed corydalis, Rhizoma curculiginis, Radix paeoniae, Radix
for herbal teas and decoctions. Brewing of the teas involves steeping glycyrrhizae, Scolopendra subspinipes, Squama manitis, Tuber
a specified amount of herb in either cold or hot water for a given curcumae. The herbal medicines used for treatment of pancreatic
amount of time. Decoctions are made by boiling the herb in water, cancer is Emblica officinalis, Nigella sativa, Terminalia bellerica.
then straining out of the plant material. More concentrated forms of
herbal medicines are available in the form of hydro alcoholic tinctures TREATMENT OF DEPRESSION
and fluid extracts. Methods of preparation may differ because of the
nature of the plants active chemical constituents. Among the various treatment options, herbal treatment is
preferable due to its nontoxic and inherent healing property. A num-
ANALGESICACTIVITY ber of nutritional and herbal supplements have shown promise as
alternative treatments for depression18. A large number of plants have
The extracts10 of Bougainvilla spectabilis, Chelidonium potential functions to treat depression which are described as, Bacopa
majus, Ficus glomerata, Dalbergia lanceolaria, Glaucium monniera, Panax quinquefolius, Piper methysticum, Rhodiola rosea,
grandiflorum, Glaucium paucilobum, Nepeta italic, Polyalthia Valeriana officinalis. St. John’s wort is today most widely known as
longifolia, Sida acuta, Stylosanthes fruticosa, Toona ciliate, Zataria an herbal treatment for depression. St. John’s Wort is the plant spe-
multiflora, Zingiber zerumbet are used as analgesic agents. cies Hypericum perforatum.

ANTI-INFLAMMATORYACTIVITY TREATMENT OF PSORIASIS

The extracts11 of Achillea millefolium, Artemisia vulgaris, Various natural proprietary formulas and preparations con-
Bauhinia tarapotensis, Curcuma longa, Forsythia suspense, taining botanical agents have been used to provide symptomatic
Houttuynia cordata, Glycyrrhiza uralensis, Lonicera japonica, Ruta relief in psoriasis19. The various herbal remedies for psoriasis are,
graveolens, Securidaca longipedunculata, Valeriana wallichii have turmeric, curcumin, shark cartilage extract, oregano oil, milk thistle.
shown anti-inflammatory activity. Various antimicrobial agents Azadirachta indica, Calendula
officinalis, Cassia tora, Wrightia tinctoria have been used in the
TREATMENT OF DIABETES MELLITUS management of psoriasis.

From ancient period, peoples are using herbal plants as home TREATMENT OF DENTAL DISEASES
remedies for the treatment of diabetes12. The various herbal plants
with antidiabetic activity are Abroma augusta, Acacia melanoxylon, The plants having the dental care properties20 are Acacia
Acacia modesta, Acacia nilotica, Aconitum ferox, Adhatoda vasika, catechu, Acacia arabica, Althea officinalis, Anacyclus pyrethrum,
Adiantum capillus, Adiantum incisum, Agrimonia eupatoria, Al- Azadirachta indica, Barleria prionitis, Cinnamomum camphora,
lium sativum, Aloe barbadensis, Althaea officinalis, Apium Cuminum cyminum, Eucalyptus globules, gardenia gummifera,
graveolens, Arctium lappa, Commiphora abyssinca, Embilica Holarrhenia antidysenterica, Jasminum grandiflorum, Juglans re-
officinalis, Eucalyptus globules, Ginseng panax, Gymnema sylvestre, gia, Mimusops elengi, Myrica sapida, Myroxylon balsamum,
Inula helenium, Juniperus communis, Medicago sativa, Nigella sa- Ochrocarpus longifolius, Ocimum sanctum, Origanum vulgare, Piper
tiva, Orthosiphon stamineus, Panex quinquefolius, Polygala senega, longum, Piper nigrum, Pistacia lentiscus, Pterocarpus marsupium,
Plantago ovata, Punica granatum, Salvia officinalis, Scoparia Punica granatum, Salvadora persica, Salvia officinalis, Solanum
dulcis, Tanacetum vulgare, Taraxacum officinale, Tecoma stans, Tri- xanthocarpum, Symplocos racemosa, Syzygium aromaticum,
folium alexandrinum, Trigonella foenum, Turnera diffusa, Urtica Thalictrum foliolosum, Zanthoxylum alatum. All these regimens
plays a significant role in suppressing the dental problems21.

Journal of Pharmacy Research Vol.3.Issue 1.January 2010 109-113

 Lakshmana Rao Atmakuri et al. / Journal of Pharmacy Research 2010, 3(1),109-113
TREATMENT OF VITILIGO farin etc. should be discouraged from using herbal products27. All
drugs with narrow therapeutic index may either have increased ad-
Antivitiligo oil is a herbal remedy manufactured with potent verse effects or be less effective when used in conjunction with herbal
herbs and is produced with traditional methods and is also a com- products. Ginko is used for Alzheimer’s disease and causes increased
plete traditional herbal formulation. The plants which can be used in bleeding with aspirin. Ginseng has multiple uses and causing syner-
the treatment of vitiligo22 are Acorus calamus, Adiantum capillus, gism with monoamine oxidase inhibitors. Kava is used as anxiolytic
Boswellia serrata, Cassia angustifolia, Cassia tora, Cinnamomum and shows synergism with benzodiazepines. St. John’s Wort is used
cassia, Fumaria officinalis, Glycyhhhiza glabra, Lavandula as antidepressant and causes reduced plasma levels of warfarin,
stoechas, Psoralea cordyfolia, Pterocarpus santalinus, Rosa dama- cyclosporine, oral contraceptives, theophylline etc28. Use of heavy
scene, Sphaetanthus indicus, Tephrosia purpuria, Vitis vinifera, metals is permitted in traditional medicines but in definite concentra-
Zingiber officinale, Zizyphus sativa. tions, which were mentioned by ancient physicians. There are now
many examples of the toxicity caused by the use of heavy metals in
TREATMENT OFAGEING the preparations of traditional drugs. Lead, copper, mercury, arsenic,
silver and gold that are commonly added to these preparations, have
Cell membranes are especially vulnerable to the aggression caused toxicity on many occasions. Patients should not use herbal
of free radicals. When the nucleus is damaged, the cell loses its abil- drugs indiscriminately with modern medicines, as there are possibili-
ity to replicate itself. The impaired cell replication results in the weak- ties of drug interactions and increased risk of adverse drug reactions.
ened immune system, skin ageing and many age related disorders23.
Various antioxidants deactivate the free radicals and prevent oxida- STANDARDIZATION OF HERBAL MEDICINES
tion on a cellular level24. The most effective antioxidants include pine
bark extract, grape seed extract, and blue berries were effective against Standardization is the code of conduct in order to ensure
the aggression of free radicals. Some commonly used herbs as anti- the consistent efficacy that manufacturers should use to ensure
ageing agents are Allium sativum, Arnica montana, Cucumis sativum, batch-to-batch consistency of their products29. Standardization of
Curcuma longa, Ficus bengalenis, Lycium barbarum, Ocimum sanc- herbals is a difficult process since the herbal contains complex mix-
tum, Panax ginseng, Prunus amygdalus, Santalum album, Rosa dama- tures of different components or mixtures of herbals are used at times
scene, Withania somnifera. as prevalent in different systems of medicines such as ayurveda. In
such cases, the exact component of herbal responsible for claimed
TREATMENT OF FERTILITY effects are unknown. The most important aspect in standardization is
structure elucidation and validation of markers using physicochemi-
Plant products have attracted the attention of many scien- cal properties such as melting point, boiling point, optical rotation
tists as a primary source of naturally occurring fertility regulating and other pre-formulation data followed by the use of IR, NMR, MS
agents because of their little or no side effects25. The plants that have and other highly sophisticated analytical methods30. GMP should
been reported to have antifertility activity are Amaranthus retroflexus, also be applicable to the quality control of herbal drugs. GMP proce-
Artabotrys odoratissimus, Barberis vulgaris, Carica papaya, dures should be developed for herbal medicine for the safety, iden-
Dieffenbachia seguine, Evodia rutacapra, Fatsia horrid, Ferula tity, strength, purity and quality of herbal drugs31. The quality of
assafoetida, Hibiscus rosasinensis, Lonicera ciliosa, , Magnolia herbal medicines is based on the assessment of crude plant material,
virginiana, Mardenia cundurango, Pisum sativum, Podophyllum plant preparations and finished products32. For imported finished
peltatum, Punica granatum, Raphanus sativus, Rehmannia products, confirmation of the regulatory status in the country of
glutinosa, Semecarpus anacardium, Sesbania sesban, Stemona origin should be required. The WHO certification scheme on the
japonica, Thuja occidentalis, Taxus baccata, Verbena officinalis. quality of the pharmaceutical products moving in international com-
merce should be applied. Internationally several pharmacopoeias have
ADVERSE DRUG REACTIONS provided monographs stating parameter and standard of many herbs
and some product made out of these herbs. Several pharmacopoeias
Herbal remedies are not entirely free of adverse drug reac- like Pharmacopoeia Committee, Chinese Herbal Pharmacopoeia, Brit-
tions. Some adverse drug reactions of commonly used herbs are, ish Herbal Pharmacopoeia, British Herbal Compendium, Japanese Stan-
spontaneous bleeding by Gingo biloba, gastrointestinal distur- dards for Herbal Medicine and The Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of In-
bances, allergic reactions, fatigue, dizziness, photosensitivity, confu- dia. These pharmacopoeias lay down monograph for herbs and herbal
sion by St. John’s Wort, hypertension, cardiac arrhythmias, myocar- products to maintain their quality in their respective nations. Govern-
dial infarction, anxiety by ephedrine, headache by Paprika, diarrhoea ment of India recommends quality parameters for various ayurvedic
by Chast tree fruit and liver toxicity by Piper methysticum26. herbal drugs. The physical and chemical stability of the product in
the container in which it is to be marketed should be tested under
DRUG INTERACTIONS definite storage conditions and the shelf-life should be established.
The safety of herbal medicines is based on the toxicological stud-
Patients taking drugs with a narrow therapeutic index like ies33. The efficacy of the herbal medicines is based on the pharmaco-
cyclosporine, digoxin, phenytoin, procainamide, theophylline, war- logical and clinical effects of the active ingredients. Quantitative and

Journal of Pharmacy Research Vol.3.Issue 1.January 2010 109-113

 Lakshmana Rao Atmakuri et al. / Journal of Pharmacy Research 2010, 3(1),109-113
qualitative standardization of a polyherbal product may be done by lated to herbal, traditionally and complementary medicines41. Herbal
using the instrumental analysis or by means of chromatography. medicines are widely used in both developed and developing coun-
tries however, in recent years, there are several high-profile herbal
STABILITY TESTING OF HERBAL MEDICINES safety concerns having an impact on the public health. Herbal medi-
cines are traditionally considered as harmless but as medicinal prod-
Stability testing of herbal medicines is a challenging risk, ucts they require drug surveillance in order to identify their risks.
because the entire herb or herbal product is regarded as the active Published data shows that the risk is due either to a contaminant or to
substance, regardless of whether constituents with defined thera- an added drug. Extremely limited knowledge about the constituents
peutic activity are known34. The objective of a stability testing is to of herbal medicines and their effects in humans, the lack of stringent
provide evidence on how the quality of the herbal products varies quality control and the heterogeneous nature of herbal medicines
with the time under the influence of environmental factors such as necessitates the continuous monitoring of the safety of these prod-
temperature, light, oxygen, moisture, other ingredient or excipient in ucts. WHO has increased its efforts to promote herbal safety moni-
the dosage form, particle size of drug, microbial contamination, trace toring within the context of the WHO International Drug Monitoring
metal contamination, leaching from the container and to establish a Programme. The WHO guidelines aims to propose the member states
recommended storage condition and shelf-life. Stability testing is of a frame work for facilitating the regulation of herbal medicines used
necessary to ensure that the product is of acceptable quality through- in traditional medicine covering issues like classification, assessment
out its entire storage period. Stability studies should be performed on of safety, assessment of the efficacy, quality assurance,
at least three production batches of the herbal products for the pro- pharmacovigilance and control of advertisements of herbal medicinal
posed shelf-life, which is normally denoted as long term stability and products. The pharmacovigilance of herbal medicines exhibits par-
is performed under natural atmospheric conditions. Stability data can ticular challenges because such preparations are available from a
also be generated under accelerated atmospheric conditions of tem- wide range of outlets typically where there is no health care profes-
perature, humidity and light, which is referred to as short term stabil- sional available, most purchases are in conventional OTC environ-
ity and the data so obtained is used for predicting shelf-life of the ment. Various methods in pharmacovigilance are passive surveillance
product. Stability testing should be conducted on the dosage form includes spontaneous reporting and stimulated reporting, active sur-
packaged in the container closure system proposed for marketing. veillance by sentinel sites, drug event monitoring, registries, com-
With the help of modern analytical techniques like spectrophotom- parative observational studies by survey study, case control study,
etry, HPLC, HPTLC and by employing proper guidelines it is possible targeted clinical investigations by investigate drug-drug interactions
to generate a sound stability data of herbal products and forecast and food-drug interactions42. The importance of genetic factors in
their shelf-life, which will help in improving global acceptability of determining an individual susceptibility to adverse drug reactions is
herbal products35. well documented and this implies to herbal medicines as well as to
conventional drugs. Pharmacovigilance is therefore one of the impor-
PHARMACOVIGILANCE OF HERBAL MEDICINES tant post-marketing safety tools in ensuring the safety of pharmaceu-
tical and related health products43.
Pharmacovigilance, a French term referring to identifying
side effects of drugs, their treatment, documentation, reportage and REGULATORY STATUS OF HERBAL MEDCINES
regulatory decisions based on them, is a well established science in
the developed world36. Pharmacovigilance is the science of collect- The legal situation of herbal medicines varies from country
ing, monitoring, researching, assessing and evaluating information to country. Developing countries have folk knowledge of herbs and
from health care providers and patients on the adverse effects of their use in traditional medicine is wide spread. But, these countries
medications, biological products, herbal medicines and traditional do not have any legislative criteria to include these traditionally used
medicines37. Pharmacovigilance is a discipline involving detection, herbal medicines in drug legislation44. Approval of herbal medicines
evaluation and prevention of undesirable effects of medicines. It in- in most countries is based on traditional herbal references, provided
volves monitoring the safety of drug over a period of time, identifica- they are not known to be unsafe when used to treat minor illnesses.
tion of adverse drug reactions in humans, access risk-benefit ratio38. But, now-a-days claims are being made to treat more serious illnesses
Safety and efficacy are the two major concerns about any drug, while with herbal medicines for which no traditional knowledge is present45.
efficacy can be detected with relative ease, the same cannot be said Therefore, regulatory requirements for herbal medicines are neces-
about safety because the adverse effect of a drug may be uncommon sary to ensure the safety, efficacy and quality and to support specific
but very serious. This gave a birth to a new branch of pharmacology indications, scientific and clinical evidence must be acquired46. De-
called pharmacovigilance39. The aims of pharmacovigilance is to pending upon the nature of herbs and market availability, different
protect patients from unnecessary harm by identifying previously requirements exist for submission of clinical trial data and toxicity
unrecognized drug hazards, elucidating pre-disposing factors and data. The regulatory requirements of herbal medicines is varies from
quantifying risk in relation to benefits 40 . The purpose of one country to other country47. Some countries accept traditional,
pharmacovigilance is to detect, assess, understand and to prevent experience based evidence while some consider herbal remedies as
the adverse effects or any other possible drug-related problems, re- dangerous or of questionable value.

Journal of Pharmacy Research Vol.3.Issue 1.January 2010 109-113

 Lakshmana Rao Atmakuri et al. / Journal of Pharmacy Research 2010, 3(1),109-113
CONCLUSION 20. Akhtar N, Ali M, Alam MS, Herbal drugs used in dental care, The
Pharma Review, 10, 2005, 61-68.
21. Schie AAA, Modes of action of currently known chemical antiplaque
Medicinal herbs as potential source of therapeutics aids agents otherthan chlorohexidine, Journal of Dental Research, 68,
has attained a significant role in health care system all over the world 1989, 1609.
22. Ansari FZ, Alam S, Jain P, Akhter S, Ansari MZH, Vitiligo and its
for human beings not only in the diseased condition but also as herbal treatment, The Pharma Review, 12, 2008, 137-13.
potential material for maintaining proper health48. It is clear that the 23. Chang RC, So KF, Use of anti-ageing herbal medicine Lycium
barbarum against aging-associated diseases, Cell and Molecular Neu-
herbal industry can make great strides in the world. With the in- robiology, 28(5), 2008, 643-652.
creased use of herbal products, the future worldwide labeling prac- 24. Khan I, Alam S, Akhter S, Shahin N, Ansari FZ, Ageing and its herbal
treatment, The Pharma Review, 12, 2007, 131-134.
tice should adequately address quality aspects. Standardization of 25. Nandakishore D, Shubhangi G, Prakash I, Pallavi S, Parimal K,
methods and quality control data on safety and efficacy are required Shishupal B, Herbal plants with antifertility activity, The Pharma
for understanding of the use of herbal medicines49. A major factor Review, 8, 2007, 131-135.
26. Vikas D, Sindhu S, Swati P, Chawla A, Adverse drug reactions of herbal
impeding the development of the medicinal plant based industries in drugs, Indian Academy of Clinical Medicine, 4(4), 2003, 345-347.
developing countries has been the lack of information on the social 27. Kuhn MA, Herbal remedies: drug-herb interactions, Critical Care Nurse,
22, 2002, 22-32.
and economic benefits that could be derived from the industrial utili- 28. Hussin AH, Adverse effects of herbs and drug herbal interactions,
zation of medicinal plants50. Further research is required to exploit the Malaysian Journal of Pharmacy, 1, 2001, 39-44.
compounds responsible for the observed biological activity. 29. Chauhan VS, Standardizing herbs and intermediates- newer approaches,
The Pharma Review, 2, 2006, 37-44.
30. Wani MS, Parakh SR, Dehghan MH, Herbal medicines and its stan-
REFERENCES dardization, Pharmainfo.net, 5(6), 2007.
31. Chakravarthy BK, Standardization of herbal products, Indian Journal
of Natural Products, 9, 1993, 23-26.
1. Winslow LC, Kroll DJ, Herbs as medicines, Archives of Internal 32. Sane RT, Standardization, quality control and GMP for herbal drugs,
Medicine, 158, 1998, 2192-2199. Indian Drugs, 39(3), 2002, 184-190.
2. Gossell M, Simon OR, West ME, The past and the present use of 33. Rawat RK, Khar RK, Garg A, Development and standardization of
plants for medicines, West Indian Medical Journal, 55, 2006, 217. herbal formulations, The Pharma Review, 6, 2007, 104.
3. De-Smet PGAM, The role of plant derived drugs and herbal medicines 34. Thakur AK, Prasad NAV, Ladha KS, Stability testing of herbal prod-
in health care, Drugs, 54, 1997, 801-840. ucts, The Pharma Review, 4, 2008, 109-112.
4. WHO technical report series, Guidelines for the assessment of herbal 35. Kathrin K, Eike R, Anne B, Validation of standardized high perfor-
medicines, 863, 1996, 178-184. mance thin layer chromatographic methods for quality and stability
5. Abhishek K, Ashutosh M, Sinha BN, Herbal drugs- present status and testing of medicines, Journal of AOAC International, 86(5), 2003,
efforts to promote and regulate cultivation, The Pharma Review, 6, 909-915.
2006, 73-77. 36. Manoj S, Raman S, Gupta VB, Chatterjee A, Pharmacovigilance of
6. Harish P, Herbal drugs, Current Science, 81(1), 2001, 15. herbal medicines, The Pharma Review, 12, 2006, 119-124.
7. Coleman LM, Fowler LL, Williams ME, Use of unproven therapies 37. Evans SJW, Pharmacovigilance: a science or fielding emergiencies,
by people with alzheimer’s disease, Journal of the American Geriat- Statistics in Medicine, 19, 2000, 3199-3209.
rics Society, 43, 1995, 747-750. 38. Chan TY, Monitoring the safety of herbal medicines, Drug Safety,
8. Sutherland LR, Verhoef MJ, Why do patients seek a second opinion 17, 1997, 209-215.
or alternative medicine, Clinical Gastroenterology, 19, 1994, 194- 39. Ponnusankar S, Venkatesh P, Venkatesh M, Mandal SC, Mukherjee
197. PK, Herbal drugs require pharmacovigilance study- need and reality,
9. Catherine C, Crone MD, Thomas N, Wise MD, Use of herbal medi- The Pharma Review, 12, 2007, 113-120.
cines among consultation-liaison populations, The Academy of Psy- 40. Kshirgsagar N, The pharmacovigilance system in India, Drug Safety,
chosomatic Medicine, 39(1), 1998, 3-13. 28, 2005, 647-650.
10. Sehgal A, Herbal medicines-harmless or harmful, Anesthesia, 57, 2003, 41. Routledge P, 150 years of pharmacovigilance, The Lancet, 351,
947-948. 1998, 1200-1201.
11. Dipankar G, Laddha KS, Harbal safety and GMP: The most debatable 42. Bigoniya P, Pharmacovigilance of herbal medicines: current status
argument in the present scenario, The Pharma Review, 2, 2006, 25- and future strategies, The Pharma Review, 5, 2009, 77-88.
29. 43. Chan TYK, Monitoring the safety of herbal medicines, Drug Safety,
12. Mukherjee PK, Maiti K, Mukherjee K, Houghton PJ, Leads from 17, 1997, 209-215.
Indian medicinal plants with hypoglycemic potentials, Journal of 44. Sukhdev S, Arun N, Kalia AN, Patentability of herbal products: a
Ethnopharmacology, 106, 2006, 1-28. review, The Pharma Review, 4, 2008, 118-124.
13. Poul BN, Patil SS, Kadam CS, Mhaske AR, Somnathe ND, Herbal drug 45. Raskin L, Ribnicky DN, Komarnytsky S, Lic N, Poulev A, Borisjuk
with antidiabetic activity, The Pharma Review, 2, 2007, 69-72. N, Plants and human health in the twenty first century, Trends in
14. Jimenez J, Hypoglycaemeic activity of Salvia lavandulifolia, Planta Biotechnology, 20(12), 2002, 522-531.
Medica, 52, 1986, 260-262. 46. Mukherjee PK, Exploring botanicals in Indian systems of medicine-
15. Al-Awadi FM, Gumaa KA, Studies on the activity of individual plants regulatory perspectives, Clinical Research and Regulatory Affairs,
of an antidiabetic plant mixure, Acta Diabetologica Latina, 24, 1987, 20, 2003, 249-264.
37-41. 47. Calixto JB, Efficacy, safety, quality control, marketing, and regula-
16. Oliver-Bever B, Zahland GR, Plant with oral hypoglycaemic activi- tory guidelines for herbal medicines, Brazilian Journal of Medical and
ties, Journal of Crude Drug Research, 17, 1979, 139-196. Biological Research, 33, 2000, 179-189.
17. Lalla JK, Herbal medicines revisited, The Pharma Review, 12, 2005, 48. Verma S, Singh SP, Current and future status of herbal medicines,
101-105. Veterinary World, 1(11), 2008, 347-350.
18. Jeyaprakash K, Herbal therapy for depression, Herbal Tech Industry, 49. Alam S, Ali R, Akhter S, Haque A, Ansari SH, Role of herbals in drug
3(7), 2007, 19-25. delivery system, The Pharma Review, 6, 2007, 106-107.
19. Raman D, Sabitha JS, Shivanand BG, Anti-microbial activity of herbs 50. Bhanu PS, Sagar TK, Zafer R, Failure and successes of herbal medi-
used in psoriasis, The Pharma Review, 8, 2005, 71-72. cines, The Indian Pharmacist, 54(2), 2000, 221-235.

Source of support: Nil, Conflict of interest: None Declared

Journal of Pharmacy Research Vol.3.Issue 1.January 2010 109-113