European legislation on herbal medicines: a look into the future.

Harmonization of the market for herbal medicines is a fundamental requirement for European industries and health professionals and it will also be useful for consumers. Herbal medicines are generally sold as food supplements, but a common regulatory status in the various European countries does not exist. As a consequence, information on clinical indications for use, efficacy and safety are influenced by different opinions, according to the clinical or traditional experience of various folk medicines available in each European country. The European Directive 2004/24/EC released in 2004 by the European Parliament and by the Council of Europe provides the basis for the use of herbal medicines in Europe going forward. The Directive establishes that herbal medicines released in the market need authorization by the national regulatory authorities of each European country and that these products must have a recognized level of safety and efficacy. The safety of herbal medicinal products will be evaluated on the basis of existing scientific literature (data from clinical studies, case reports, pre-clinical studies). When data on safety are not sufficient, it will be communicated to consumers. According to the criteria of safety and efficacy, we will have two kinds of herbal medicinal products in the future: (i) 'well established use herbal medicinal products' (medicinal herbs with a recognized level of safety and efficacy); and (ii) 'traditional use herbal medicinal products'. The later category will include those medicinal herbs that do not have a recognized level of efficacy but are acceptably safe. Even though the fundamental objective of the new European herbal legislation is the harmonization of the market of herbal medicines, important regulations have been introduced, which will contribute to safer use of herbal substances if adopted by the whole of the European community.