Herbal remedies are available everywhere and manufacturers of these products are numerous. The products can range from capsules containing a single type of herb to "specialty formulas" such as those marketed for "menopause symptoms" or "stress relief" which often contain many different herbs in a single capsule. Determining which of these to take and how much has become a challenge for many consumers.
The pitfalls of using herbal remedies are many. For one, herbal products are largely unregulated. The Food and Drug Administration considers herbs to be dietary supplements rather than drugs. This means that the manufacturer only has to prove that the herb is safe for human consumption and has no obligation to determine whether the herb really works for what they claim. Manufacturers are allowed to make any statement they wish about the possible health benefits of a certain herb as long as they add the disclaimer, "these statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease". No actual proof of an herb's benefit is required--shades of the old-time medicine men travelling about in their wagons hawking snake oil to unsuspecting pioneers.
Second, there is a risk of adulteration in some herbal remedies. If the value of the herb is high, some disreputable firms will undercut the product with a cheaper herb so that the consumer doesn't get the full-strength herb. Chinese ginseng is an example of an herb for which adulteration has been a problem.
Lastly, when the consumer goes to purchase the desired herb, reading and understanding the labelling on the package can be mind-boggling. There are no well-defined doses for herbal medicines and to complicate matters further, there is no standard method for reporting the dosages on the packages. For example, one brand of kava kava (an herb used for anxiety) states that two capsules contain 300 milligrams of kava kava standardized to 30% kavalactones. What does that mean? Why do they tell us the dose for two capsules instead of just one and what are kavalactones anyway? The bottle of kava kava next to it states that two of their capsules contain 1000 milligrams of kava kava from a 4:1 concentrate. Which bottle contains the better dose of kava kava and how much should one really take?
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