NEWSPAPER CLIPPING

Herbal products need better regulation

Source : Malaysiakini
Date : 11 October 2010
Writer : Mohana Priya

The World Health Organization (WHO) recognises that nearly 80% of the
world's population is dependent on traditional medicine for primary
health care. Herbal medicine constitutes a large part of what is prac-
ticed as traditional medicine around the w o r l d.

WHO has published guidelines for the assessment of herbal medicines in

an attempt to help the ministries of health of all governments develop
regulations that ensure medicines are labeled properly, and that con-
sumers and practitioners are given proper directions for their use. Many
doctors are revisiting herbal remedies in response to consumer interest.

The use of alternative medicines in the United States, particularly

herbal products, increased dramatically during the last decade. In 2001
alone, Americans spent US$4.2 billion on herbs and other botanical
remedies (Judith P. Kelly et al, 2005). Although this issue now receives
considerable attention in the medical and lay press, few details about
the frequency and nature of use of herbal and other natural products
(herein referred to as dietary supplements) have been published.

In addition, herbal alternatives are increasingly being used to control

soaring healthcare costs. Although we may think that our pharmaceuti-
cally-based medical practices are the norm for the world, this is not
true. In fact, 80% of the world's population relies on herbal remedies
because they cannot afford Western drugs.

Even in many wealthy nations, herbal remedies are being re-integrated

into mainstream medicine. Traditionally, botanists define an herb as
any plant that dies down to the ground each winter.

According to Malaysian Standard MS 1860:2005 , herbal medicine in-

clude herbs, herbal materials, herbal preparations and finished herbal
products that contain active ingredients, parts of plants, or other plant
materials, or acombination thereof. Herbal products consist of herbal
preparations made by one or more herbs, in any dosage forms.

A concentrated form of the herbal preparation obtained by processing

the crude herb with an appropriate solvent, by maceration, fractiona-
tion, infusion, supercritical fluid extraction, or any other means of ex-
traction is known as herbal extract according to the Malaysian Standard
as stated earlier.

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A survey on the awareness of herbal medicine among consumers was
conducted in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, and some parts of Ipoh. Based on
the survey, out of 110 respondents who have tried herbal medicine,
seven of them said that they have experienced side effects such as dry
skin, acne, hair loss and stomach pain. About 37% of them who had side
effects said that it could be due to the active ingredients in the prod-
uct, followed by insufficient information on the product, and the user's
negligence. The respondents were asked on the importance of labeling
in herbal product and why consumers do not read the labels on the
product.

About 37 % of the respondents said that the label wording was too
small and crowded and 3% of them said that they bought imported
products which have their description in a foreign language that they
do not understand. Consumers said that the most important aspect that
needs to be modified in the labeling of herbal product is to have easy-
to-understand description (32%), bigger font size (27%), detailed usage
instructions (14%) and indication of side effects (13&).

Other important aspects highlighted were an advisory when using

herbal products (12%) and an ccurate indication of the ingredients in
the bottle or package 11%). When it comes to awareness, many of the
consumers are still not aware on what are the mandatory requirements
when it comes to the labeling of herbal medicines/ products and where
can they make a complaint or enquiry.

For respondents who did not try herbal medicine, 33% of them said
they do not think herbal medicine is effective , 28% said that they are
afraid of the side effects and the rest said they prefer only products
recommended by their doctors. About 54% of the respondents are in-
terested in getting more information about herbal products and herbal
medicine while 32% are not interested at all and the rest of the respon-
dents are not sure.

Overall, the consumers were interested in herbal products related to

supplement (36%), followed by cosmetics (29%), medication (12%) and
food (11%) and the rest did not choose anything.

The Malaysian Association of Standards Users (Standards Users) is aware

that more and more consumers are interested in herbal and natural
products. This could be due to a new evolution of products that are
available in the market and at a cheaper rate. Some products are also
highly marketed by pharmaceutical companies. However, Standards Us-
ers wish to highlight a few issues pertaining to herbal medicine and
herbal products.

Labeling is very important in consumer goods and services. Medicine

and health related products are highly regulated in Malaysia by the
Ministry of Health. But, some over- the -counter products are available
to consumers and they can purchase them without prior consent from
doctors or pharmacists. This is something worrying.

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Some of the herbal medicine, as mentioned earlier, contains active
ingredients which can cause serious side effects to consumers when
used. It is important that consumers go through an authorised person-
nel, in this case a doctor or pharmacist, to purchasing them. This way,
the consumer can be advised accordingly and based on his/ her condi-
tion. Even if the product does not need to be a controlled item,
proper labeling should be in place.

From the survey, it showed that consumers at times not able to read
the labels due to the small font and improper printing. And in case if
the product is imported, it has to have a mandatory labeling in Bahasa
Malaysia or English. But some of the consumers have said that there
are products that have labels in foreign languages. This shows that
there is either a lack of control mechanism on the entry of such goods
into the country or there is a weak monitoring system in the market
by regulators to prevent such products from being marketed to con-
sumers in Malaysia.

Based on the above, once again Standards Users would like to urge the
enforcement unit regulators and policymakers to pay close attention
to the issues mentioned about herbal medicine and herbal products.
There should be mandatory safety standards on labeling and improve-
ment in labeling aspects.

If there is strong regulation on this matter, it will surely help the con-
sumer to consume safer herbal products and medicine and standards
can also help industries that are keen on herbal products to have bet-
ter guidelines to ensure quality, safety and efficacy when catering to
consumers.

The writer is attached to the Malaysian Association of Standards Us-

ers.

Link :
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