Challenges in integrating herbal medicine in healthcare systems

In this perspective some of the challenges facing the integration of herbal medicine in the healthcare system are described. Such challenges include the need to understand the chemical nature of complex herbal products and their formulation for human therapeutic use, the importance of translation of basic scientific research to human clinical safety and efficacy, provision of a framework for obtaining the evidence required for validation of traditional herbal medicinal products and defining a regulatory system which allows adequate research funding and protection of resulting intellectual property. Requirements for developing standard operating procedures for clinical trials on herbal medicines are described.