Safety of Traditional Medicines

In recent years, there has been an increase in the use of traditional medicines and cosmetics worldwide as they are considered safe. However, such remedies rarely go through stringent preclinical/clinical toxicity testing. The unsuspecting user usually is unaware of any toxic effects and uses these products in good faith. Often these products contain heavy metals, chemical toxins, bacterial and other contaminants.

Evidence is now rapidly gathering momentum to oppose the common myth, that ‘traditional’ or ‘herbal’ equals ‘natural’ equals non-toxic i.e., ‘safe’. An example is the use of traditional remedies in the eye. Analytical data on traditional eye cosmetics/medications used in India and other parts of Asia, and the Middle East, reveals the presence of metals and other contaminants. Another example is that of skin lightening creams sold in shops that contain mercurials. Several such metal containing products are available freely and could be potentially toxic. These can give rise to unsuspected cases of poisonings. Physicians need to be made aware of these possible sources of poisoning.

Along with safety also comes the question of quality and efficacy. Often traditional remedies have false/misleading information on labels. Safety monitoring and regulations for quality control should be made mandatory and such products should have adequate labeling information for the consumer.

The obvious conflict between traditional practitioners and the purists demanding evidence of safety, efficacy and quality needs to be addressed as a priority issue in India and in other parts of the world. Needless to say that cultural and social sensitivities could pose a barrier to such studies.