Regulatory Status of Traditional Medicines in Different Countries: An Overview

In the last decade a global upsurge is seen in the use of traditional herbal medicines, in both developing and developed countries. International trade TM has enormously increased and it is playing an important role in health care and health sector reform globally. For this reason safety, efficacy and quality of herbal medicines have become important concerns for both the health authorities and the public. WHO has taken an initiative and drafted several guidelines for quality control of TM/HM. But due to the different cultural and historic conditions, theories and therapies of TM differ from country to country and region to region. Unfortunately there is a lack of common standards and understanding and appropriate methods for evaluation of TM to ensure the safety, efficacy and quality control of TM/HM.

The present article provides an overview of the regulatory aspects of TM/HM in some countries and emphasizes over the need of harmonization and improvement in the process of regulation.