scholarly journals Methods to Ensure Microbiological Safety of Organically Produced Medicinal Plants: A Review

HortScience ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 292-295 ◽  
Author(s):  
James W. Rushing
Keyword(s):  
Functional Foods ◽  
Herbal Medicines ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Review Of Literature ◽  
Human Pathogens ◽  
Medicinal Products ◽  
Over The Counter ◽  
Herbal Medicinal Products ◽  
Microbiological Safety ◽  
Herbal Medicinal

The production, handling, processing and marketing of over-the-counter medicinal products manufactured from plants is virtually unregulated. This can include dietary supplements, functional foods and nutraceuticals, any of which may contain botanical constituents. Of particular concern is the possible presence of human pathogens in products offered at retail. A review of literature is presented. Options for sterilizing herbal medicinal products, including fumigation, irradiation and heat treatments, are presented. Experiences of the spice industry are discussed as they relate to the development of similar protocols for herbal medicines. Methods used to ensure microbiological safety must be evaluated for their effect on the medicinally active constituents in the plant material. Very little data of this nature are available. Avenues for future research are proposed.

scholarly journals Pharmaco-epidemiological research on herbal medicinal products in the paediatric population: data from the PhytoVIS study

2019 ◽  
Vol 179 (3) ◽  
pp. 507-512
Author(s):  
Karen Nieber ◽  
Esther Raskopf ◽  
Johanna Möller ◽  
Olaf Kelber ◽  
Robert Fürst ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Adverse Events ◽  
Common Cold ◽  
Sleep Disturbances ◽  
Skin Diseases ◽  
Herbal Medicines ◽  
Paediatric Population ◽  
Clinical Effects ◽  
Medicinal Products ◽  
Herbal Medicinal Products ◽  
Herbal Medicinal

AbstractIn paediatrics, clinical study data are limited, especially on herbal medicinal products. To address this gap, 2063 datasets from the paediatric population were evaluated in the PhytoVIS data base. By screening for paediatric data, information on indication, gender, treatment, co-medication and tolerability were evaluated. The majority of patients was treated because of common cold, fever, digestive complaints, skin diseases, sleep disturbances and anxiety. The perceived effect of the therapy was rated in 84% of the patients as very good or good without adverse events. The data shed light on a still neglected field of phyto-pharmacotherapy by giving information on the use of herbal medicines in an unselected cohort of paediatric patients. The results confirm the good clinical effects and safety of herbal medicinal products in this patient population and show that they are widely used in Germany.What is Known:• In Germany, about 85% of children receive one or more herbal medicinal products per year.• Despite international initiatives to promote clinical research in paediatrics, there are still many gaps of knowledge in the use of drugs in paediatrics.What is New:• The PhytoVIS project evaluated 2063 data sets from the paediatric population using herbal medicinal products.• The majority of patients was treated because of common cold, fever, digestive complaints, skin diseases, sleep disturbances and anxiety, and 84% of the patients rated the therapy as very good or good without adverse events.

Herbalism and the menopause

2002 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 72-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edzard Ernst
Keyword(s):  
Herbal Medicines ◽  
Trial Data ◽  
Black Cohosh ◽  
Effective Alternative ◽  
Medicinal Products ◽  
Herbal Medicinal Products ◽  
Herbal Medicinal

Herbal medicinal products are often sold as a safe and effective alternative to HRT. Sizeable sets of trial data exist for black cohosh and soy. For other herbal medicines, only isolated trials have emerged, and their number is too low to enable one to arrive at valid conclusions. Collectively the data for black cohosh do not prove efficacy. The evidence for soy is encouraging but not compelling. Neither black cohosh nor soy is associated with major safety problems. Further research is warranted to closer define the role of herbal medicines for the menopause.

scholarly journals The potential of herbal extracts to inhibit SARS-CoV-2: a pilot study

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michela Luisa De Pellegrin ◽  
Anette Rohrhofer ◽  
Philipp Schuster ◽  
Barbara Schmidt ◽  
Philipp Peterburs ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Respiratory Infections ◽  
Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction ◽  
Herbal Medicines ◽  
Vero Cells ◽  
Cell Culture Supernatant ◽  
Herbal Extracts ◽  
Medicinal Products ◽  
Herbal Medicinal Products ◽  
Herbal Medicinal

Abstract Background Herbal medicinal products have a long-standing history of use in the therapy of common respiratory infections. We sought to assess the potential of five validated herbal extracts regarding their ability to restrict SARS-CoV-2 replication in vitro: Bronchipret thyme-ivy (BRO TI), Bronchipret thyme-primrose (BRO TP), Imupret (IMU), Sinupret extract (SINx) and Tonsipret (TOP). Methods Vero cells were incubated with different concentrations of herbal extracts and infected with SARS-CoV-2 for 48 hours. The inhibition of viral replication was assessed by determination of the viral RNA load in the cell culture supernatant using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Results SARS-CoV-2 RNA load was reduced by non-cytotoxic concentrations of BRO-TP (up to approximately 1,000-fold) and, to a lesser extent, IMU and TOP (approximately 10-fold). Conclusions Some herbal extracts showed a promising in vitro effectiveness against SARS-CoV-2, suggesting an antiviral potential of herbal medicinal products. The potential of herbal medicines to restrict SARS-CoV-2 and to treat COVID-19 should be investigated further in a clinical setting.

scholarly journals Determination of Anthracene Derivatives in Herbal Medicines

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 104-114
Author(s):  
O. V. Evdokimova ◽  
A. V. Beketova ◽  
M. N. Lyakina
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Herbal Medicines ◽  
Quality Standards ◽  
Test Methods ◽  
Medicinal Products ◽  
Herbal Medicinal Products ◽  
Herbal Preparations ◽  
Anthracene Derivatives ◽  
Herbal Medicinal

The relevance of this study stems from the need for alignment of test methods used for identification and assay of anthracene derivatives in herbal preparations and herbal medicinal products. The aim of the study was to analyse Russian and international quality standards and to identify the most specific and sensitive test methods that could be used for herbal medicines containing anthracene derivatives. The comparative analysis of requirements in the Identification, Determination of major classes of bioactive compounds, and Assay parts of the Russian and foreign pharmacopoeial monographs for herbal preparations and herbal medicinal products containing anthracene derivatives, demonstrated that the main test method used for identification is thin layer chromatography, while assays most often rely on spectrophotometry. The so-called “consistent standardisation” principle is implemented in the Russian quality standards as regards alignment of methods used for anthracene derivative determination in herbal preparations (i.e. active pharmaceutical ingredients, APIs) and herbal medicinal products containing these APIs. The comparative analysis of requirements in the Russian and foreign quality standards for herbal medicines containing anthracene derivatives demonstrated the need for elaboration of two general chapters: Qualitative analysis of anthracene derivatives in herbal medicines and Quantitative analysis of anthracene derivatives in herbal medicines.

scholarly journals Dissolution test of herbal medicines containing Paullinia cupana: validation of methods for quantification and assessment of dissolution

2011 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 269-277 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra Alves de Sousa ◽  
Henrique Pascoa ◽  
Edemilson Cardoso da Conceição ◽  
Suzana Ferreira Alves ◽  
Danielle Guimarães Almeida Diniz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Condensed Tannins ◽  
Herbal Medicines ◽  
Dosage Forms ◽  
Dissolution Behavior ◽  
Therapeutic Action ◽  
Medicinal Products ◽  
Herbal Medicinal Products ◽  
Dissolution Studies ◽  
Paullinia Cupana ◽  
Herbal Medicinal

"Guaraná" (Paullinia cupana) is used as a physical activity enhancer and stimulator due to its methylxanthines and condensed tannins. The aim of this work was to evaluate the dissolution behavior of five herbal medicines in the form of capsules and tablets containing guaraná. Assay and dissolution methods were validated and results obtained allowed simultaneous marker quantification with precision, accuracy, selectivity and robustness. Findings showed that 100% of the herbal medicinal products analyzed did not provide satisfactory results concerning the presence of four markers, 60% had three markers (caffeine, catechin and epicatechin), while 40% had only caffeine at tested dosage forms. In addition, after 30 minutes, only capsule A showed at least 80% of the dissolved markers. In other capsules, marker dissolution did not exceed 60% whereas 60% of the samples had some characteristic pharmacotechnical problems. These results evidence the need for rigorous quality control to help ensure the therapeutic action of these drugs. To this end, dissolution studies are an essential tool for quality assurance of herbal medicines.

scholarly journals Safety of Herbal Medicinal Products: Echinacea and Selected Alkylamides Do Not Induce CYP3A4 mRNA Expression

2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maryam Modarai ◽  
Elisabete Silva ◽  
Andy Suter ◽  
Michael Heinrich ◽  
Andreas Kortenkamp
Keyword(s):  
Enzymatic Activity ◽  
Safety Concern ◽  
Immunomodulatory Activity ◽  
Mrna Levels ◽  
Medicinal Products ◽  
Over The Counter ◽  
Herbal Medicinal Products ◽  
Drug Metabolizing Enzyme ◽  
Herbal Medicinal ◽  
Metabolizing Enzyme

A major safety concern with the use of herbal medicinal products (HMP) is their interactions with conventional medicines, which are often mediated via the cytochrome P450 (CYP) system. Echinacea is a widely used over-the-counter HMP, with proven immunomodulatory properties. Its increasing use makes research into its safety an urgent concern. Previously, we showed that Echinacea extracts and its alkylamides (thought to be important for Echinacea's immunomodulatory activity) mildly inhibit the enzymatic activity of the main drug metabolising CYP isoforms, but to this date, there is insufficient work on its ability to alter CYP expression levels. We now report for the first time the effect of a commercial Echinacea extract (Echinaforce) and four Echinacea alkylamides on the transcription of the major drug metabolizing enzyme CYP3A4. HepG2 cells were exposed for 96 h to clinically relevant concentrations of Echinaforce (22, 11.6 and 1.16 μg mL−1) or the alkylamides (1.62 and 44 nM). CYP3A4 mRNA levels were quantified using real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Neither Echinaforce nor the alkylamides produced any significant changes in the steady-state CYP3A4 mRNA levels, under these conditions. In contrast, treatment with 50 μM rifampicin resulted in a 3.8-fold up-regulation over the vehicle control. We conclude that Echinaforce is unlikely to affect CYP3A4 transcriptional levels, even at concentrations which can inhibit the enzymatic activity of CYP3A4. Overall, our data provides further evidence for the lack of interactions between Echinacea and conventional drugs.

scholarly journals Regulatory compliance of herbal medicines – A review

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 3127-3135
Author(s):  
Malathi Seshasayee Konda Ramadoss ◽  
Kailasam Koumaravelou
Keyword(s):  
Medicinal Product ◽  
Herbal Medicines ◽  
Regulatory Compliance ◽  
Global Market ◽  
World Health ◽  
Manufacturing Companies ◽  
Medicinal Products ◽  
Herbal Medicinal Product ◽  
Herbal Medicinal Products ◽  
Herbal Medicinal

Recently, herbal medicinal products (HMP) have gained importance and are extensively used in the prevention and treatment of various ailments. A commercial herbal medicinal product should comply with the regulatory requirements of quality, safety and efficacy. Currently, the standards and regulations of herbal medicinal products are varying from country to country, which poses a challenge to the manufacturing companies to place a standardized herbal product in the global market. Hence a collaborative effort must be taken both by regulatory bodies and the World Health Organization (WHO) to establish harmonized regulations for a herbal medicinal product. An attempt has been made in this review which may pave the way to meet out the constraints and challenges in the manufacturing and marketing of herbal medicinal product worldwide.

Cross-channel message consistency in herbal medicine advertising

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 113-136
Author(s):  
Abena Animwaa Yeboah-Banin ◽  
Kwaku Krobea Asante
Keyword(s):  
Herbal Medicine ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Herbal Medicines ◽  
Medicinal Products ◽  
Herbal Medicinal Products ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Herbal Medicinal ◽  
Credible Information ◽  
Context Specific ◽  
Media Channels

Purpose For many developing country citizens, traditional herbal medicines offer affordable alternatives to expensive orthodox options. Consumers learn about them from different sources including the packaging, which by regulatory demands must provide certain information. In countries such as Ghana, many herbal medicine brands combine packaging information with radio presenter mentions (PMs) as the primary modes of advertising. The purpose of this study is to compare radio PMs of herbal medicines to their packaging information to see how consistent they are in providing credible information to consumers. Design/methodology/approach The study uses comparative qualitative content analysis to compare information about disease indications, directions for use and warnings/cautions as provided on the packaging and in PMs to gauge the extent of their congruence. Findings Findings show that there are substantial cross-channel message differences. These differences range from under-representation to sometimes, blatant misinformation, suggesting the possibility that audiences will have difficulty relying on them for decisions. Research limitations/implications This study only addressed issues with the manifest content of herbal drugs’ packaging and PMs. It does not include any interviews with consumers to gauge the extent of their consciousness of the lapses identified, and how they are affected by such. In addition, the study sample is context-specific. Ghana presents an interesting setting for the study but it is none-the-less only one country, denying us the power to generalize the findings. Practical implications The study points to a need to pay closer attention to message salience and consistency where multiple channels are used in promoting herbal medicinal products. Due to their historically traditional context of consumption in many developing countries, regulatory frameworks on herbal medicine markets are often lax. This study calls attention to a need for better policing on how herbal medicinal products promote themselves, particularly where they use multiple media channels that introduce variations into their messages. Originality/value The study calls attention to the credibility of cross-channel messages in supporting consumers of medicinal products. Secondly, because of the predominance of the normative view in medical advertising, channels such as PMs that accommodate message variation and improvisation have eluded critical analysis. By its focus on the presenter mention advertising format, the study also draws attention of health communication scholars to begin to include emerging modes of medical advertising in their analysis.

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