Within the last few years there has been a tremendous surge 
of interest in herbs and their medical and cosmetic 
properties. Unfortunately, there was not much scientific 
evidence pertaining to herbs and herbal remedies in the 
past. Today, there are many clinical studies that have 
proven benefits of many botanical products.You can find 
this and other information on scientific data underlying 
the use of herbs for health at www.herbmed.org. This site 
is an evidence-based information resource for 
professionals, researchers and the general public. 
 
What brought me to the topic of herbs, science and the FDA 
was an article I read yesterday headed " Studies guestion 
herbal remedies' claims". The article was based on an 
editorial published with the studies in Wednesday's Journal 
of the American Medical Assciation saying improvements are 
needed in the regulation of alternative treatments. Within 
the study 433 websites were examined an analyzed for their 
Internet marketing clams of 8 most widely used herbal 
supplements (ginkgo biloba, St John's wort, echinacea, 
ginseng, garlic, saw palmetto, kava kava, and valerian 
root). Their results were " Among 443 Web sites, 338 (76%) 
were retail sites either selling product or directly linked 
to a vendor. A total of 273 (81%) of the 338 retail Web 
sites made 1 or more health claims; of these, 149 (55%) 
claimed to treat, prevent, diagnose, or cure specific 
diseases. More than half (153/292; 52%) of sites with a 
health claim omitted the standard federal disclaimer. 
Nonretail sites were more likely than retail sites to 
include literature references, although only 52 (12%) of 
the 443 Web sites provided referenced information without a 
link to a distributor or vendor. " Their conclusion was 
that herbal remedies are often marketed on the internet 
with misleading or unproven health claims and bolster the 
argument for having one system for both herbs and drugs. 
Annette Dickenson, group present of the Councile for 
Responsible Nutrition, was also quoted in this article as 
saying this study should not lead people into thinking all 
such products are ineffective " There are proven benefits 
of many of the botanical products and consumers want to 
know that." and I must agree.  
Unfortunately, through the years there has been many 
conflicting statement on herbs and the use of herbal 
supplements that have left consumers at a lost. My advice 
to you as a consumer is to do a little research if you are 
in question about a herb, a good place to start is 
herbmed.org. , know your supplier ( are they licensed to 
sell herbs and do they follow required procedures ), if you 
are taking percription medication and / or have a serious 
medical condition consult your physician and if you have 
any concerns again consult your physician.