Posted by: anugaman October 5, 2009
Herbal medicines and FDA
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FDA doesnt say anything bad about herbal products. since it considers herbal products as food not as drugs only the components are checked just for consumer safety. The FDA claims that they can only regulate things which fall under the two categories, namely foods and drugs. According to the Food and Drug Act passed in 1906 and 1938, all food additives and drugs should be approved by the FDA before they can be sold in the market. They all need to submit evidences about their health claims or how they can cure an ailment or condition, before they can be legally sold to the public.


Herbal remedies, which are classified under dietary supplements, are composed of processed or unprocessed elements such as plant barks, extracts and essential oils. Since they are considered as dietary supplements, they are not regulated by the FDA like drugs or prescription medications.


They are more likely classified and regulated as food, which helps make it easier for herbal remedies to be sold in the market since there are fewer restrictions in terms of their approval. Unfortunately, since these herbal remedies make health and disease claims, there have been discrepancies as to where they are going to be classified, and how they are going to be regulated.

heres some advantages of herbal medicines over pharmaeutical drugs

http://www.home-remedies-that-work.com/advantages-of-herbs.html

 

Last edited: 05-Oct-09 07:58 PM
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