Health Risk associated by Traditional and Complementary Medicines (T&CM) with Special Reference to Herbal Medicines either used alone or Concomitant with Conventional Pharmaceuticals

Traditional and Complementary Medicines (T&CM) are an integral part of health care having deep cited roots in history for the treatment and prophylaction of various mental and physical diseases and to maintain health in good conditions. Although T&CM includes herbal medicines, acupuncture, yoga, and some other indigenous practices this review is mainly focusing on the safety issues associated with the use of herbal medicines (including herbs, herbal materials, herbal preparations, and finished herbal products) either used alone or combined with conventional pharmaceuticals. The trend of using T&CM is on the rise currently as these products are branded as completely safe and free from any kind of adverse effects. This misperception is wrong because a lot of intrinsic and extrinsic factors are responsible to affect the quality of these drugs resulting in severe health consequences. Misidentification of herbs, overdosing, adulteration, and the presence of environmental contaminants like pesticides, heavy metals, and microbial and fungal contaminants are some issues that account for the risks associated with herbal medicines. Another alarming aspect is the concurrent use of both herbal and conventional medicines resulting in interactions of natural phytochemicals with synthetic constituents of conventional medicines resulting in potentiating or antagonizing the pharmacological effects of drugs. The need for time to ensure the quality, safety, and efficacy of T&CM according to the standards of the World Health Organization to make rational use of herbal medicines safe and sound.