Herbal medicines: challenges in the modern world. Part 1. Australia and New Zealand.

Joanne Barnes, Andrew J McLachlan, Catherine Mt Sherwin, Elena Y Enioutina

Journal: Expert review of clinical pharmacology 2017;9(7):905-15

PMID: 27070431

Abstract

As in many developed countries, herbal medicines (HMs) are widely used in Australia and New Zealand (NZ). The popularity of HM continues to rise. Western, Asian and indigenous HMs are used, reflecting the cultural diversity of people in this region. HMs in Australia are regulated on a risk-based system with many HMs identified as being low risk. The legislation was reviewed in 2015 and proposals for change are under consideration. In NZ, it is recognised that current regulations for HMs and other natural health products (NHPs) do not adequately protect public health. NZ is entering a phase of regulatory change for this sector, and proposals for a 'light-touch' regulatory framework for NHPs are planned to be introduced into legislation during 2016.

Address: a Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences , School of Pharmacy, University of Auckland , Auckland , New Zealand.; b Faculty of Pharmacy and Centre for Education and Research on Ageing , University of Sydney and Concord Hospital , Sydney , NSW , Australia.; c NHMRC Centre for Research Excellence in Medicines and Ageing , the University of Sydney , Sydney , Australia.; d Division of Clinical Pharmacology, the Department of Pediatrics , University of Utah School of Medicine , Salt Lake City , UT , USA.; e Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology , University of Utah , Salt Lake City , UT , USA.; f Division of Microbiology and Immunology, the Department of Pathology , University of Utah School of Medicine , Salt Lake City , UT , USA.

DOI: 10.1586/17512433.2016.1171712