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BOTANICAL PREPARATIONS - HERBALS AND NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENTS.

The passage of the DIETARY SUPPLEMENT HEALTH AND EDUCATION ACT (DSHEA) of 1994 resulted in an increase in the growth of the herbal and nutritional supplements available to consumers.

These supplements do not require approval of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Hence, the safety and efficacy of these products is not guaranteed.

A very important point to remember is that many chemicals derived from plants have been developed into drugs. However, one of the most pressing problems today is the variability in the concentrations of the active chemical(s) manufactured and stored by plants used for medicinal purposes.

Consumers need to know some basic information in order to accurately assess a particular herbal product. Points to consider are:
l) Has the plant been accurately identified in terms of genus and species name and author citation to ensure correct identification;
2)Common names should be avoided as they may apply to many plants;
3)The part of the plant used to prepare the supplement must be identified since the plant components (root,stem,leaves,seedsor rhizomes) often contain different concentrations of active and inactive chemicals;
4) Young plants may contain more or less of some chemicals than more mature plants;
5) Climate and soil differences alter the synthesis of many chemicals;
6) Genetic differences within a species alter the ability of that species to synthesize some chemicals;
7) Herbal products should be grown without exposure to toxic metals, pesticides, herbicides and other contaminants;
8) Storage and processing of herbals should prevent introduction of fungi, bacteria, and other incidental contaminants;
9)Extraction processes should be listed by the manufacturer as types of solvents, the extraction conditions, temperature and extraction time can significantly affect concentration of the active chemicals;
10) The specific quantity or range of active chemical should be listed by the manufacturer. If the active chemical is unknown the chemical families found in the product should be listed;
11)Herbals using whole plant extracts versus those that use extracts of isolated chemicals can result in differing actions, obviously affecting the efficacy of the preparation;
12)The type of preparation developed from plants (extract, powder, pill, etc) may not be equivalent in terms of activity;
and 13)Consumers are spending a lot of money to buy herbal and nutritional supplements. Many are assuming that safeguards are in place to protect their health and well being. Many consumers are using herbal supplements along with pharmaceutical agents. At this point little or no information is available on possible interactions of these combinations.

Dr. Bill recommends that consumers make note of the supplement they are using, manufacturer of the supplement, dose used, length of time supplement taken, and make a list of all pharmaceuticals used concurrently as well(including all data just listed for herbals). This type of documentation should be available for review by physicians and other health professionals in case negative effects are noted. Use of some supplements can interfere with laboratory tests. For example, high doses of Vitamin C can result in abnormal blood laboratory results. Please, consult your physician or other health professional for review of supplements taken in terms of potential drug-drug, drug-herbal, drug-vitamin, drug-mineral, and/or drug-food interactions.   

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