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THE PHARMA REVIEW
FEBRUARY 06
Standardizing Herbs &
Intermediates - Newer Approaches
Dr. V ijay Singh Chauhan
Pharma world today looks at herbal products with great expectation for finding the newer generations of therapeutically useful compounds but tragically, a group of scientists enjoy using the phrases like "herbs are mock", "Herbs are hoax" or "Herbal-the horrible" and "No side-effects and no effect" as and when an opportunity comes. Such experiences could be shocking and painful for an herbalist, yet we believe, nothing is without a reason and therefore, these words are either an expression of the anguish over some bad experience or, the utterances of single-track minds with a tunnel-view. The humanity is no doubt indebted to modern medicine for the control of epidemics and endemics, the revolution in the field of surgeries, the life saving remedies & every research that has increased the overall life span of human race. Still one should not forget that the diseases and their remedies existed since the origin of mankind and thus the survival of our species owes a lot to the age old wisdom of herbalism in various forms and from different parts of the world. No one has a right to call it a "Mock" or "Hoax", simply because the herbs or herbal preparations have not yet been evaluated on the new age scientific parameters. In India, from the times of Charaka and Susruta (1000-1500 B.C.), the emphasis has been on: i) offering the user friendly dosage forms, ii) ensuring perfect quality assurance and iii) understanding of allied para-clinical subjects. We should not forget that the environment, soil conditions, the crop quality, the societal cultures and the life style all have changed drastically in last 3500 years and hence there lies a need to relook into the principles and practice of traditional systems in the light of contemporary investigative measures or, in other words, to ensure the quality, safety and efficacy of herbal products We will point-wise discuss some pertinent issues. The above content is an abstract only. For the full Article please contact: |
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