Adverse Herb-Drug Interactions

The possibility of interactions between herbal and conventional medicines has undoubtedly become one of the prominent expressed views on the part of the health professional and, in terms of Western media coverage, a common alarm call for the public as well. No substantial text on herbs can now afford to be without its list of possible interactions, and there are many versions available. Along the way, however, the story has become extremely confused. In the absence of much hard data, speculation in one source has tended to become an accepted statement in the next, a biblical fact in a subsequent magazine article, only to be quoted back in the next professional conference. Glaring technical inconsistencies have also appeared and have assumed their own mythological status. In the midst of this confusion, the real cautions are lost or diminished. It is time for the Augeian stables to be cleaned. In this chapter we will scrutinise the most commonly accepted wisdoms about herb-drug interactions (HDIs), challenge those without adequate rationale, and more clearly order those interactions that are left into theoretically possible and established.