Herbal medicines - an overview

The last two decades have seen a great resurgence of herbal drugs all over the world. According to WHO, 80% of the world population rely chiefly on plant based traditional medicines specially for their primary health care needs. There are between 35,000 and 70,000 plant species, which have been used at one time and another in different cultures for medicinal purposes globally. At least 6,500 species are used in Asia as home remedies. At the turn of the century approximately 170 herbal drugs were officially recognized in the United States Pharmacopoeia and National Formulary. In Pakistan around 60 % of the population is reported to be catered by Traditional healers and Homeopaths using mostly medicinal herbs. According to Reports, some 400-600 plants are more frequently used in herbal preparations out of which around 200-400 find extensive use in their day-to-day practice. Pakistan is blessed with diverse climatic conditions, soil and altitude variations best suited for the cultivation of a variety of valuable medicinal plant. It is reported to be one of the largest importers of medicinal plants, spending US $ 130.0 million on import. Export volume of medicinal plants is reported to be 8,500 tones annually Valued at US $ 6.0 million. It appears that most of the plants are being imported to meet our demand. No efforts seem to have been made to undertake cultivation on scientific lines towards import substitution. Few efforts were also made in Pakistan in 1980s in public sector organizations. The Natural Drug Division of PCSIR, Peshawer conducted feasibility studies of some common medicinal plants like, Silybun marianum, matricaria Chamomilla, Aesculus indica and few others, providing useful information to attract the farmers. Cultivation trials were also conducted on 20 important medicinal plants at the Pakistan Forest Research Institute. The efficacy of medicinal plants depends largely on the conditions in which t h e plant is grown - soil and climate, time of collection, harvesting and Method of preservation. Lot of herbs are being wasted and their quality suffers due to lack of proper preservation and inadequate storage conditions., Insects, mites, molds, rust, moisture and temperature adversely affect the quality of herbs. The practice of Tibb & Homeopathy in Pakistan is regulated through the Unani Ayurvedic and Homeopathic Act of 1965 whereas the manufacture, sale, distribution, import export, quality, efficacy etc, of the medicines of these systems are not regulated by any legal o administrative measures. So there is a need to set standards and specifications for the manufacturing of herbal preparations through the enforcement of law. In order to ensure Quality, Safety and Efficacy of herbal medicine it is imperative to develop: I) National standards, and technical guidelines and methodology for evaluating safety, efficacy and quality of these medicines ii) Develop national Pha r macopoeia and monographs of medicinal plants.