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@ 2008-05-16 – 09:59:21
The market in herbal medicines and treatments is worth many millions of pounds, all herbal products have written on the label and in their advertising, "MAY help.....".
Why has there been no full scale testing of these products?
Why do the ingredients vary so much in similar products?
Why does the price vary so much in similar products?
Why does the NHS not use them as alternatives to their present drugs?
soyunperdedor
Pro 
joebangles
Hi soyunperdedor, but why has there been no full scale testing?
tylluanpenry
Pro You've missed another question : Why are so many 'real' medicines based on plants? (Aspirin was originally derived from Willow, and some cancer busting drugs come from the Yew to name but two.)
It's a false assumption that something must be safe because it's natural. Some of the most toxic poisons actually come from plants. So do many banned drugs (the Opium Poppy has much to answer for.)
But if you were to ask me why I take SOME herbal medicines - my answer is simple.
THey work.
i second that..
joebangles
Yes Jack, but, do they work as well as the modern drugs where there has been control over the production.
there a a few issues here as medicine both natural and modern all work differently with diferent people..what we have to keep in our minds is that the big pharmacutical company makes Billions from their drugs and there is no desire to change or improve them...certainly there is no interest in finding cures..take my condition hypothrodism...i am on thyroxine for life...the companies make over 6 billion pounds a year from this drug alone...so joe you need to step out of the box and not place your trust too much with modern medicine...Keep an open mind and Hey Try things if they work for you well stick with them!!...but never stop looking and questioning!!
Who benifits from a cure for AIDS!!!?????...not the drug companies...so dont expect one to soon..
joebangles
Yes, you make your point Jack, and of course I am well aware that many a doctors prescription is trial and error, "If this dosen't work come back and we will try something else".
I am not against herbal medicines and of course those company's are also doing it for the profits, and I know that a full scale trial is a very expensive thing to do, but, if they all got together they could do it and prove the efficacy of their product.
joebangles
Hi tylluan, yes I am aware that many of our "modern" medicines come from plants and that there are probably many more that can be found to be of use so why are we not following up on these and having full scale testing of the product.
Obviously the pharmaceutical company's control the market but they would still do that and make the same, possibly more, profits.
tylluanpenry
Pro I think one reason for lack of testing has to be the cost - generally, the companies producing herbal medicines don't make the sort of profits that Glaxo-Smith-Kline seem to manage.
Pharmaceutical companies are quite happy to use plant derivatives in their products... unfortunately, they have so far found it impossible to patent an entire genus.... so there's no incentive for them to do so.
Of course, just as not all herbal remedies are 'safe' for everyone, so not all pharmaceutical ones are, either. Many people are allergic to penicillin etc. Often drugs have been prescribed with over optimistic claims - Seroxat is a recent example; Venlaflaxine may be another.
And often, drugs are prescribed with no real reasoning behind them. For example, some drugs developed to deal with epilepsy are suddenly being given out for depression with the explanation 'We don't know why they work, but they do.'
So this is why I get so stroppy when suddenly the medical profession and the pharmaceutical companies try to portray themselves as upholders of good science, the best interests of mankind, etc etc.
I think this was a really interesting post, Joe, thanks for asking the question! 
The alternative medicines , including weleda products , homeopathic medicines and bach flower remedies , available in some high street chemists are entirely safe if used as directed , though whether they really help is another matter .
I once heard a report on Radio5live saying that some 'chinese medicine's' dispensed in this country have been found to contain toxic ingredients , and/or banned prescription drugs .
joebangles
Hi s & v, but how do we know that they are safe if they have not been tested?, do we just take the company's word for it? or believe their advertisements.
I presume that to be licensed to be sold in the UK they must have had to undergo some testing , and I'm personally confident that homeopathic/bach flower/weleda medicines are 100% safe , used as directed , though I can't prove that but if you contact the companies they may be able to produce some evidence , and , obviously , anything stupidly overdosed on , even water , is potentially fatal !
Why has there been no full scale testing of these products?
//Because if they tested them and found out they worked just as well as mass-produced non-herbal medication then the big companies would go bust. Why would they help out testing something (because they would have to be involved) that would result in them going bust.//
Why do the ingredients vary so much in similar products?
//It's the same way the ingredients in a curry vary. It's just the different recipes.//
Why does the price vary so much in similar products?
//Sometimes it can be the quality of the ingredients, other times it's the place selling it and their mark-up, and sometimes it's the availability of the ingredients.//
Why does the NHS not use them as alternatives to their present drugs?
//Because there has been no officially testing done.//
One of the main (but secret) reasons you'll never see a doctor prescribing herbal medication is because they'll lose out on revenue from the chemical companies. Herbal medication is very very easy to make so if you could make a herbal infusion that cured a headache or acne, or you could make a cream to help a rash just by mashing up some herbs and mixing it with an oil, saving you £5 a week in over-the-counter pox ridden stuff then you'd do it... doctors and companies would lose out so no doctor is ever going to support it.
joebangles
Hi landers, surely the pharmaceutical company's could make just as much money from using natural products, maybe even more.
If the ingredients vary so much at what point do they become useless or dangerous.
If the production of herbal medicines is that easy and cheap why don't large company's, ie, Unilever, Shell, etc go into production and with the power of advertising create a huge market.
surely the pharmaceutical company's could make just as much money from using natural products, maybe even more.
vitiligo-treatment
Pro As for as concer with the effectiveness of herbal medicine many serious skin conditions which are treated as chronic one can be easily treated by common used herbs.
An example of this is skin condition psoriasis,eczema and vitiligo.
If every know about any vitiligo remedy you would amaze to know that how common ingredient are beneficial to annihiliation of vitiligo from your body system.
Answer of the question about the herbal medicine are safe are not is depend upon the use of herbal medicines.
For maximum benefit and safety always use as per instructions of experts or herbalists.
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The last 3 points are eaily answered by refering to the fact that there has been no full scale testing!