Alternative und integrative Medizin

Herbal Medicine: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

Abstract

Chikezie PC and Ojiako OA

Herbal medicines involve the integration of several therapeutic experiences and practices of indigenous systems of medicine that may span many previous generations, which often provides valuable guidelines to the selection, preparation and application of herbal formulation for the treatment, control and management of variety of ailments. According to World Health Organization, 60% of the world’s population depends on traditional medicine and 80% of the population in developing countries depends almost entirely on traditional medicine practices and herbal medicines for their primary health care needs. As a result of increasing demand for herbal medicines, there are increasing concerns about the safety, standardization, efficacy, quality, availability and preservation of herbal products by policy-makers, health professionals as well as the general public. Improvement in the quality of herbal medicines could be achieved by deliberate implementation of good agricultural practices (GAPs) at the point of cultivation of medicinal plants and good manufacturing practices (GMPs) during the process of manufacture and packaging of finished herbal products, as well as post-marketing quality assurance surveillance. Additionally, following the current sustained improvements in quality control and regulatory measures in many countries of the world, it is envisaged that in the near future, herbal medicinal practices will be integrated into the conventional medicines.