This is a reaction to Richard Yu’s letter titled “Safety of herbal drugs proven through generations.” (Inquirer, 09/29/2009)

Protecting the industry, abundant sources, cheap herbal supplements, and “generations of common-sense” don’t justify the distribution of a product for human consumption. The claimed benefits from herbal products by herbalists and users are, in fact, only anecdotal testimony of people allegedly cured, not based on scientific research. I commend the Department of Health and Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD) for regulating the production and sale of herbal products.

The following scientific information should warn the public about herbal supplements and alternative medicine:

(1) A review of scientific literature on our herbal products yielded the following number of articles in valid publications (i.e., published in international medical journals, whose standards have not yet been met by any Philippine medical journal): sambong (2), lagundi (9), akapulko (20), and ampalaya (115). Only three of these 146 articles have Filipino authors—akapulko (1) and ampalaya (2). Only the ampalaya studies have been reviewed in an international medical journal, which concluded that adequate clinical trials are needed to properly assess its safety and efficacy. For more on these four herbal products and virgin coconut oil, read “Research on medicinal plants” at, http://www.philippinestoday.net/index.php?module=article&view=238.

(2) Recent international reviews of the scientific literature on other herbal medicinal products warn: They are not free of risk. One such review was conducted by scientists from the Department of Complementary Medicine, Universities of Exeter and Plymouth, United Kingdom and was published in the journal Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety in 2004. The study concludes that some herbal drugs have the potential to cause serious adverse events and fatalities and that more research and more information are required to ensure consumers’ safety.

(3) The Commission for Scientific Medicine and Mental Health in the United States, a panel that includes prominent physicians, scientists, and Nobel prize winners, has this to say about alternative medicine: Despite the phenomenal success of science-based medicine, we are seeing a reversion to irrational and superstitious approaches to medical practice. There are 29,000 nutritional supplements now marketed in the United States. In 2003, the industry made nearly $20 billion in sales. Federal law now leaves the safety of these products up to the scruples of marketers. Many of these products do not contain the amount of active ingredients listed on the label; some don’t have any at all. Recent studies have shown that many herbal remedies from India and China contain harmful levels of lead, mercury, arsenic, or other toxic substances.

For some additional examples of how the public is being endangered by alternative medicine at, http://www.csmmh.org/special.html

—FLOR LACANILAO,
retired professor of marine science,
University of the Philippines, Diliman, QC