Public safety and dietary supplementation.
Approximately 6 in 10 Americans report regularly using some type of dietary supplement, and approximately 1 in 6 Americans reports using herbal remedies on a regular basis. The diversity of manufacturers, manufacturing processes, and quality control issues are enormous. As with all plant products, herbal products are complex mixtures of a variety of chemical constituents with considerable variation in the growth, harvesting, and storage conditions, including different extraction procedures. Furthermore, not only is there variation in batches, but also the potential for contamination. In addition, herbal products have the potential to interact with pharmaceuticals. These problems have led to consumer and physician confusion about the use of herbal products and have not been satisfactorily resolved, because the Food and Drug Administration has only very recently started to fulfill its mission of consumer protection in the realm of dietary supplements. More importantly, we provide a working plan for addressing this important issue.
Gershwin
M Eric
ME
Division of Rheumatology, Allergy, and Clinical Immunology, University of California, Davis, California 95616, USA. megershwin@ucdavis.edu
Borchers
Andrea T
AT
Keen
Carl L
CL
Hendler
Sheldon
S
Hagie
Frank
F
Greenwood
M R C
MR
D019587:Dietary Supplements / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000592:standards*; D041743:Herb-Drug Interactions; D029001:Herbal Medicine / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D014481:United States; D014486:United States Food and Drug Administration / Q000592:standards