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The Renaissance of Herbal Medicine |
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AN EXPANDED DEFINITION
OF “HEALTH CARE” FOR
THE 21ST CENTURY
by Philip A. Duterme, Ph.D.
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 or centuries people have relied on the
medicinal link between plants and
health. Rooted in ancient traditions
found in all corners of the world, herbal
medicine is becoming part of a truly integrated
medicine that knows no boundaries
between “conventional” and “alternative”
health care in giving people more and better
choices. Herbal medicine is not “alternative.”
Instead, it offers an ideal approach to
preventive “self care” that addresses many
moderate health conditions in a safe, gentle
and cost effective way.
During the 20th century, medicine’s
hallmark has been to focus on the treatment
of illnesses, injuries and other adverse conditions.
As we enter the 21st century, such
“sick care” is giving way to an expanded
perspective, one that includes long-term,
preventive strategies. Educated consumers
around the world increasingly endorse an
expanded concept of health care. This concept
encompasses promoting optimum
health and well-being while minimizing the
nuisances of aging before they deteriorate
and turn into serious illness.
If few dispute the desirability of including
herbal medicine in this expanded
definition of health care, why is it then that
herbal remedies meet with as much
resistance as they elicit enthusiasm?
The honest answer: a need
for more science and better quality.
Herbal medicine lost favor
when it could not match the superior
quality and consistency of scientifically
tested and rigorously
processed pharmaceuticals. These
pharmaceuticals had clinical
research to prove their safety and
efficiency. As patients drive the
movement to rediscovering the link
between plants and health, can
herbal medicine meet the challenge
of providing scientific evidence of
its safety and efficiency?
The answer is a resounding yes.
Foes of herbal medicine are quick
to point out that quality products and
solid scientific evidence are equally scarce.
The performance of herbal remedies has
been inconsistent and products have often
delivered less than what was promised. The
lack of understanding of the benefits and
limitations of herbal medicine created misconceptions
about herbal medicine providing
an alternative quick fix. Inflated consumer
expectations fueled disappointment.
While all this is indeed true, it fails to
focus on what herbal medicine has achieved
on its road to recovery. Herbal medicine is
well on its way to adopting the trusted
model of pharmaceutical-grade research and
manufacturing. Companies are working to
ensure the safety, efficiency and consistency
of their products. The job to generate consumer
confidence in quality products is well
on its way to getting done.
Companies throughout the world already
apply pharmaceutical-grade standards to the
development and production of herbal remedies.
They conduct or sponsor legitimate
scientific studies on proprietary formulas during
the preliminary marketing stages. Clinical
trials—including double-blind, placebocontrolled
studies—are conducted on herbal
remedies, in the same manner as pharmaceuticals.
Consistency of quality is the biggest
challenge of herbal medicine, not only from
batch to batch, but also between the
clinically-tested product and the product
being marketed. Herbal remedies are inherently
heterogeneous and consist of multiple
active molecules and very complex organic
compounds that traditionally have been difficult
to reproduce in assembly-line fashion.
Expertise in pharmacognosy is needed to
make sure the right ingredients are used.
Harvested herbs can vary widely in their
active ingredient profile and obtaining raw
herbs that are consistent from crop to crop is
difficult to guarantee.
It is only recently that sophisticated
methods have been applied to herbal remedies
to satisfy consistency requirements.
Herbal medicine manufacturers now use
techniques such as chromatographic fingerprinting
to make certain all raw ingredients
are of adequate potency. This technique is
also used to verify that the profile of ingredients
in each batch of the finished product is
equivalent to that of the standard.
While the producers who have taken this
approach are still in a minority, it is now
possible to manufacture herbal remedies
with true pharmaceutical-grade quality. The
rate at which these methods are adopted
industry-wide will dictate the rate at which
herbal medicine will live up to its promises.
True pharmaceutical-grade herbal remedies
are available today. It is time you discover
them.
Philip A. Duterme, Ph.D., is president and chief
executive officer of Himalaya USA of Houston,
Texas, the exclusive North American representative
of the Himalaya Drug Company.
Founded in 1995, Himalaya USA is marketing
a unique and complete line of Herbal Health
Care products developed, manufactured and evaluated
according to the most scientific and rigid
standards of modern pharmaceutical products.
Contact Himalaya USA at their Web site:
http://www.himalayausa.com
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