An Insight into Herb - Drug Interactions

Abstract

Alternative medicine is becoming popular worldwide and this is clearly evident from the rapidly escalating sales figures. The time tested and clinically proven herbal medicines like St. John’s wort, Ginkgo biloba, Garlic, Ephedra, Echinacea etc., make up most of the world’s market as for as alternative medicine is concerned. In spite of its increasing popularity, global criticism regarding the safety of herbal medicines is gaining importance. The surfacing of the adverse effects/adverse events due to concomitant use of herbs and prescription medicines undermine the safety of herbal medicines. The safety of herbal medicines still remains a daunting task. The herbs like St. John’s wort, Ginkgo biloba, Garlic, Ephedra, Echinacea etc., have been reported to interact pharmacokinetically and pharmacodynamically with several prescription medicines. The available literature also bolsters that concomitant use of herbs and drugs can lead to several adverse effects/adverse events. This article presents most of the significant herb – drug interactions reported till date along with a note on the predicted interactions which may/may not occur. There are certain herb – drug combinations which can produce therapeutic benefit and these beneficial herb – drug combinations are also detailed in this article. This review gives an insight into herb – drug interactions, stressing the need to carryout studies on herb – drug interactions at a faster pace, which can strengthen the concept of herbal medicine