Mohammad-Reza Ardalan
1, Mahmoud Rafieian-Kopaei
2*1 Chronic Kidney Disease Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
2 Medical Plants Research Center, Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences, Shahrekord, Iran
*Corresponding Author: *Corresponding author: Mahmoud Rafieian-Kopaei, Medical Plants Research Center, Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences, Shahrekord, Iran., Email:
rafieian@yahoo.com
Implication for health policy/practice/research/medical education
Herbal medicines are generally considered to be safe and effective agents. Therefore, people more and more turn to herbal medicine because they believe that plant remedies are free from undesirable side effects. However, medicinal plants can be toxic intrinsically or when taken in combination with other preparations. Herbal products are usually not evaluated for purity and consistency of active compounds, they also often contain contaminants. Furthermore, it is believed that if a drug is effective, it will not totally be safe and will have side effects. Therefore, herbal medicines as drugs may have side effects, too. More research on adverse reactions on available herbal preparations should be encouraged and public education on the good and bad effects of herbals need to be emphasized. Health care professionals should remain vigilant for potential interactions between herbals and prescription medications.
Please cite this paper as: Ardalan MR, Rafieian-Kopaei M. Is the safety of herbal medicines for kidneys under question? J Nephropharmacol 2013; 2(2): 11-12.