Sunday, June 15, 2008
By law, herbal remedies are dietary supplements, not medicine
Audio slide show
Herbal glossary
- Herbs: aromatic plants used especially in medicine or as seasoning
- Herbalist: a person who collects or deals in herbs, especially medicinal herbs
- Tonic: a food or medicine that invigorates or strengthens, as in a tonic of sulphur and molasses
- Tincture: concentrated herbal extract usually mixed with alcohol and water and taken as a supplement
- Salve: a medicinal ointment used to soothe rashes or wounds
Sources: Dictionary.com and the Greenstar Farm and Apothecary Herbal Preparations Catalog
Top-selling Greenstar herbals
- Insomnia formula tincture, made of valerian root, skullcap flowering tops and hops flowers
- Jewelweed anti-itch lotion, made from organic jewelweed, plantain, calendula, witch hazel and lemon and tea tree oils
- Herbal healing salve, made of comfrey, plantain, olive oil and beeswax
Related
Commercially, herbal remedies and vitamin supplements are big business. In 2007, the industry's sales were $8.6 billion, according to Marty Traynor Spencer of The Natural Foods Merchandiser, a Boulder, Colo.-based trade magazine that tracks sales of so-called natural products. Between 2006 and 2007, sales of herbals and vitamins increased by about 6 percent.
According to Spencer, the increase could likely be traced to a growing body of science that supports claims that some herbals can contribute to health and to a desire to avoid illnesses.
"People are taking them to sort of prevent conditions happening, rather than healing themselves when they get sick," Spencer said.
Regulation of herbal products falls to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and is governed by the Dietary Supplement and Health Education Act of 1994. Under the law, herbal remedies are considered to be "dietary supplements," not medicines, and are treated similarly to food.
Under the act, every herbal remedy must be labeled as a dietary supplement. Sellers of herbs are technically responsible for ensuring the safety of the herbs they manufacture or distribute and that any representations or claims made about them are substantiated by adequate evidence, according to Stephen King, an FDA spokesman.
Dietary supplements generally do not need approval from the FDA before they are marketed, King wrote in an e-mail. And, in most cases, sellers of herbs do not have to provide the FDA with evidence showing preparations are safe or effective either before or after marketing their products. The FDA may take action if products are shown to cause harm, according to King.
For years there has been debate about whether the federal government should enact stronger regulation of herbals. Some argue that unscrupulous sellers can either defraud customers with false claims, or, in the worst cases, distribute tainted or unsafe products.
But others say more regulation would drastically limit the availability of herbals by driving up their cost. This could, opponents argue, deprive low-income people and those without health insurance of herbal remedies they now use as their main source of health care.
