Chapter 10 - Herbal drug interaction and effects on phytopharmaceuticals

Abstract

People prefer direct or indirect combinational or multimodal therapy with or without medical guidance in impoverished nations like Asia and Africa, which could result in herb-drug interactions (HDIs). In the recent epidemic COVID year, the globally general population used more traditional medicines particularly immune-boosting herbal medicines, antiallergic, and health-boosting herbal formulations with allopathic conventional drugs. In the clinical uses of allopathic and conventional medications, herb-drug interactions have grown in importance as a safety concern. Integrative medicine mainly herbal formulation contains multiple raw herbs. During herbal therapy the interactions of herbs with drugs occur due to the presence of multiple chemical components, which possess various pharmacological activities. These interactions can be either in pharmacokinetics and/or pharmacodynamics. Herbs can alter the characteristics of drug absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion. They can also affect the chemical behavior of pharmaceuticals. Medicine interactions with herbs alter the chemical makeup of the drug, its bioavailability, and its therapeutic effects. These modifications either resulted in therapeutic failure or toxicities, which can occasionally be seriously lethal. The safety of patients is greatly endangered by drug exposures and a lack of knowledge about potentially harmful interactions between herbs and medications. Some interactions might have therapeutic advantages. Future research into new therapeutic approaches for improving human wellbeing may benefit from it.