Key technical issues of herbal medicines with reference to interaction with other medicines

Download or read book Key technical issues of herbal medicines with reference to interaction with other medicines written by and published by World Health Organization. This book was released on 2021-05-19 with total page 85 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This document provides information on the critical technical issues related to interactions between herbal medicines and other medicines for health-care professionals, regulators, researchers, pharmacovigilance centres, manufacturers and consumers. The intention of this document is to provide as much concise information as possible, and to give direction and guidance on capitalizing resources to support informed decision-making and maximize the safe concurrent use of herbal medicines and other medicines. The concepts of beneficial and harmful herb-drug interaction (HDI)s are introduced, with documented examples from the published literature. Types of HDI and their mechanisms are outlined, and the relevance of in vitro, general screening and in vivo tests is included. Challenges faced in evaluating and monitoring HDIs, data collection, assessment and dissemination of information are briefly discussed. The education and training of health professionals and consumers are addressed, together with potential research strategies for further investigation of the mechanisms, incidence, monitoring and management of HDIs.