title: Assessing safety of herbal products for menopausal complaints: an international perspective.
abstract: Future research of herbal products for menopausal women should include long-term safety assessments because women may use these products for prolonged periods of time. Growing numbers of women take prescription medications and concurrently use herbal products for alleviation of menopausal symptoms. Because of possible herb-drug interactions, both drug and supplement manufacturers should provide basic pharmacokinetic data to reduce the risk of adverse interactions. In addition, herbal products produced to high quality standards are essential for ensuring consumer safety. Regulatory frameworks must be in place to ensure that herbal ingredients' identities have been verified, that they have been properly quantified per unit dose, that the product is within tolerance limits for contaminants, that the product's safety and effectiveness under the recommended conditions of use have been assessed before sale to the public, and that a system is in place to detect and deal with adverse reactions when they arise. This article explores these and related concerns.
authors.affiliation: Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85719, USA. drlowdog@aol.com
authors.forename: Tieraona Low
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Dog
authors.forename: Robin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Marles
authors.forename: Gail
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Mahady
authors.forename: Paula
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gardiner
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ko
authors.forename: Jo
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Barnes
authors.forename: Mary L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Chavez
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Griffiths
authors.forename: Gabriel
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Giancaspro
authors.forename: Nandakumara D
authors.initials: ND
authors.lastname: Sarma
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003257:Consumer Product Safety; D005260:Female; D033161:Government Regulation; D041743:Herb-Drug Interactions; D006801:Humans; D038622:Internationality; D007880:Legislation, Drug; D008593:Menopause; D008517:Phytotherapy / Q000009:adverse effects*; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D010936:Plant Extracts