The Change Mariner

Medical Journal Questions Herbal Remedies

Reuters:

The editor of a leading U.S. medical journal called on Tuesday for tighter regulation of herbal remedies because of "potentially misleading" health claims made by distributors of the products.

"Because many dietary supplements have or promote biological activity, they must be considered active drugs and regulated as such," wrote Dr. Catherine DeAngelis, editor of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Classified since 1994 by federal regulators as untested dietary supplements, U.S. sales of such popular herbal remedies such as ginkgo biloba, St. John's wort, echinacea, ginseng, garlic, saw palmetto and kava kava have risen nearly fivefold in the past decade to $18 billion in 2001, a study appearing in the same journal said.