Review
doi: 10.1016/s0002-9343(97)00397-5.
Harmless herbs? A review of the recent literature
Affiliations
- PMID: 9528737
- DOI: 10.1016/s0002-9343(97)00397-5
Item in Clipboard
Review
Harmless herbs? A review of the recent literature
Am J Med.
1998 Feb.
Abstract
Herbal medicines have become a popular form of therapy. They are often perceived as being natural and therefore harmless. This article reviews the recent literature on the adverse effects of herbal remedies. Examples of allergic reactions, toxic reactions, adverse effects related to an herb's desired pharmacological actions, possible mutagenic effects, drug interactions, drug contamination, and mistaken plant identities are provided. Because of underreporting, our present knowledge may well be just the "tip of the iceberg." Little is known about the relative safety of herbal remedies compared to synthetic drug treatments, although for some herbal remedies, the risks may be less than for conventional drugs.
Similar articles
-
Herbal medicine: potential for intoxication and interactions with conventional drugs.Clin Tech Small Anim Pract. 2002 Feb;17(1):6-18. doi: 10.1053/svms.2002.27785. Clin Tech Small Anim Pract. 2002. PMID: 11890130 Review.
-
[Adverse effects and interactions of phytotherapeutic drugs].Ther Umsch. 2002 Jun;59(6):283-91. doi: 10.1024/0040-5930.59.6.283. Ther Umsch. 2002. PMID: 12125177 German.
-
Perceived efficacy of herbal remedies by users accessing primary healthcare in Trinidad.BMC Complement Altern Med. 2007 Feb 7;7:4. doi: 10.1186/1472-6882-7-4. BMC Complement Altern Med. 2007. PMID: 17286858 Free PMC article.
-
[Adverse reactions to herbal remedies: analysis of reported adverse reactions in the Netherlands].Ned Tijdschr Geneeskd. 2013;157(47):A6615. Ned Tijdschr Geneeskd. 2013. PMID: 24252407 Dutch.
-
Herbs as medicines.Arch Intern Med. 1998 Nov 9;158(20):2192-9. doi: 10.1001/archinte.158.20.2192. Arch Intern Med. 1998. PMID: 9818799 Review.
Cited by
-
Fatal aconite poisoning in a rural Nepali traditional healer: clinical challenges and management strategies.Ann Med Surg (Lond). 2024 Sep 4;86(10):6289-6292. doi: 10.1097/MS9.0000000000002543. eCollection 2024 Oct. Ann Med Surg (Lond). 2024. PMID: 39359847 Free PMC article.
-
Advancing herbal medicine: enhancing product quality and safety through robust quality control practices.Front Pharmacol. 2023 Sep 25;14:1265178. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2023.1265178. eCollection 2023. Front Pharmacol. 2023. PMID: 37818188 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Demographic and psychometric predictors associated with engagement in risk-associated alternative healthcare behaviours.PLoS One. 2023 Sep 21;18(9):e0291016. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0291016. eCollection 2023. PLoS One. 2023. PMID: 37733748 Free PMC article.
-
Detecting and Profiling of Milk Thistle Metabolites in Food Supplements: A Safety-Oriented Approach by Advanced Analytics.Metabolites. 2023 Mar 17;13(3):440. doi: 10.3390/metabo13030440. Metabolites. 2023. PMID: 36984880 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Ethnobotanical survey of medicinal wild plants in the Shouf Biosphere Reserve, Lebanon.J Ethnobiol Ethnomed. 2022 Dec 26;18(1):73. doi: 10.1186/s13002-022-00568-y. J Ethnobiol Ethnomed. 2022. PMID: 36572929 Free PMC article.
Publication types
MeSH terms
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
