Medical Herbalism and Herbal Clinical Research: A Global Perspective
Sunday J. Ameh, Obiageri O. Obodozie, Peace C. Babalola, Karnius S. Gamaniel
Journal of Pharmaceutical Research International · pp. 99–123 · Published 23 Jun 2011
10.9734/BJPR/2011/403Abstract
This review aims to sensitize researchers, regulators and other stakeholders to the centrality of clinical research to drug development from herbs used in Traditional Medicine (TM). The review uncovered and dwelt on the fact that: while clinical trials of chemical medicines (pharmaceuticals) tend to come late in the drug development chain, the reverse is often the case with herbal medicines (phytomedicines). Once the decision is made to develop a single phytochemical entity (phytopharmaceutical, example: artemisinin) from a plant, the need for such sensitization is particularly desirable, given their huge socioeconomic implications. The review emphasized that drug development from a traditional herb can: i) take the route of standardization of the herb or its extract for immediate use without further chemical manipulations; or ii) proceed along the line of isolation and other manipulations aimed at optimising bioactivity. By the first route, development proceeds directly from confirming that the pharmacological property of the herb tallies with its traditional indication, leading instantly to value addition to traditional knowledge accumulated over years. This is because herbal medicines based on time tested traditions need not undergo phased trials as would a novel pharmaceutical (or an old herb for a new indication), since their long histories often offer evidence of their safety and efficacy. In the second route, clinical studies usually come later in the chain. This is because, unlike the traditional therapeutic, the new phytopharmaceutical, taken out of its natural microenvironment and subjected to various chemical manipulations, including purification, is no longer the equivalent of the ancient remedy with predicable effects. Moreover, in this later case, interest in the new entity (an artificially concentrate isolate) may shift completely from the traditional indication of the herb, hence the need for phased trials of phytopharmaceuticals (or an old herb for a new indication), despite their natural origin.
References (41)
- 1 Clinical Trials: A Practical Approach. [DOI]
- 2 Fundamentals of Clinical Trials [DOI]
- 3 The value of plants used in traditional medicine for drug discovery. [DOI]
- 4 Interactions Between Herbal Medicines and Prescribed Drugs [DOI]
- 5 Herbal medication: potential for adverse interactions with analgesic drugs [DOI]
- 6 Treatment of Irritable Bowel Syndrome With Chinese Herbal Medicine [DOI]
- 7 Animal self-medication and ethno-medicine: exploration and exploitation of the medicinal properties of plants [DOI]
- 8 Antimicrobial Functions of Spices: Why Some Like it Hot [DOI]
- 9 Spices as influencers of body metabolism: an overview of three decades of research [DOI]
- 10 Coffee: Botany, biochemistry and production of beans and beverage [DOI]
- 11 Herbal remedies: adverse effects and drug interactions.
- 12 The chimpanzees of the Budongo Forest : ecology, behaviour, and conservation
- 13 Botanical Classification of Coffee [DOI]
- 14 Phytotherapeutics: an evaluation of the potential of 1000 plants [DOI]
- 15 Location bias in controlled clinical trials of complementary/alternative therapies [DOI]
- 16 The methodological quality of randomized controlled trials of homeopathy, herbal medicines and acupuncture [DOI]
- 17 The biological activity of valerian and related plants [DOI]
- 18 The Risk–Benefit Profile of Commonly Used Herbal Therapies [DOI]
- 19 Can animals use foraging behaviour to combat parasites? [DOI]
- 20 Herbal Medicine in Europe — Relaxing Regulatory Standards [DOI]
- 21 Doctrine of Signatures: An Explanation of Medicinal Plant Discovery or Dissemination of Knowledge? [DOI]
- 22 Use of Vernonia amygdalina by wild chimpanzee: Possible roles of its bitter and related constituents [DOI]
- 23 Treatment of Diarrhea-Predominant Irritable Bowel Syndrome with Traditional Chinese Herbal Medicine: A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial [DOI]
- 24 Why vegetable recipes are not very spicy [DOI]
- 25 Kava and Valerian in the treatment of stress‐induced insomnia [DOI]
- 26 Garlic Extract Therapy in Children With Hypercholesterolemia [DOI]
- 27 The Influence of Valerian Treatment on 'Reaction Time, Alertness and Concentration' in Volunteers [DOI]
- 28 Clinical pharmacology in the Middle Ages: Principles that presage the 21st century [DOI]
- 29 Current phytotherapy - A perspective on the science and regulation of herbal medicine [DOI]
- 30 Dilemmas of traditional botanical research
- 31 Wild Health : How Animals Keep Themselves Well and What We Can Learn from Them
- 32 Effect of Kava and Valerian on human physiological and psychological responses to mental stress assessed under laboratory conditions [DOI]
- 33 Current phytotherapy an inter-regional perspective on policy, research and development of herbal medicine [DOI]
- 34 Efik Divination, Ordeals, and Omens [DOI]
- 35 Voices of Qi: An Introductory Guide to Traditional Chinese Medicine
- 36 Climbing Black Pepper (Piper guineense) Seeds as an Antisickling Remedy [DOI]
- 37 Physicochemical Analysis of the Aqueous Extracts of Six Nigerian Medicinal Plants [DOI]
- 38 Potentials of Gladiolus corms as an antimicrobial agent in food processing and traditional medicine [DOI]
- 39 The Doctrine of Signatures. [DOI]
- 40 Ayurveda: a comprehensive guide to traditional Indian medicine for the West [DOI]
- 41 The Holy Bible
Cited by 31
Jephtha C. Nmor · International Journal of TROPICAL DISEASE & Health · 2014
Sunday J. Ameh, Nneka N. Ibekwe, Aminu A. Ambi, Taoheed Abdulkareem, Barnabas K. Toge, Benjamin U. Ebeshi, John Alfa, Magaji Garba · European Journal of Medicinal Plants · 2014
Sunday Ameh, Mujtaba Abubakar, Aminu Ambi, Patrick Ikokoh, Obiageri Obodozie, Magaji Garba, Herbert Cocker · Journal of Pharmaceutical Research International · 2012
Deepak Bhattacharya, B. M. Bhuyan, P. K. Pradhan, D. K. Nayak · Journal of Pharmaceutical Research International · 2012
Hadi Al-Jamal, Sara Idriss, Rabih Roufayel · Viruses · 2024
Héla Fehri, Mohamed Aly Fall Seideh, Sondes Dardour · Communications in Computer and Information Science · 2016
Deepak Bhattacharya · Open Access Journal of Translational Medicine & Research · 2018
Yemisi Elizabeth Asibor, Abel Kolawole Oyebamiji, Dayo Felix Latona · Scientific Reports · 2024
Deepak Bhattacharya · Advances in Infectious Diseases · 2012
Ferda Akyuz Ozdemir, Dilek Yildirim · Seminars in Oncology Nursing · 2025
Showing 16 of 31 known citations — external sources report more than can currently be individually listed.
Related research
- A Novel Catalytic Synthesis of Flavones under Autoclave Conditions and Comparative Study of Anti-cancer Activity — shares topic coverage
- HPTLC Densitogram Profile of Aqueous Distillate (Arka) from Roots of Boerhaavia diffusa — shares topic coverage
- Effects of Ethanol Extract of Unripe Annona muricata (l.) Fruits on the Haematological and Histopathological Parameters in Swiss Albino Rats Infected with Salmonella typhi — shares topic coverage
- In vitro Efficacies of Some Nigerian Medicinal Plant Extracts against Toxigenic Aspergillus flavus, A. parasiticus and A. ochraceus — shares topic coverage
- Antimalarial Efficacy of Bergenia ciliata (Saxifragaceae) Leaf Extract In vitro against Plasmodium falciparum and In vivo against Plasmodium berghei — shares topic coverage
Article metrics
Real usage data collected on this platform.
32
Page views
0
PDF downloads
5
Outbound clicks
31
Citations
Views over time
Views by country
Approximate, from request IP at view time — not citizenship or institution. Countries with fewer than 5 views are grouped as "Other".
Traffic sources
Referring site, by host.
Views and downloads exclude known bots/crawlers. Citations combines this platform's own DOI-resolved index with each external source's own reported total — see Cited by above for individually listed citing works. Last refreshed 0 seconds ago.