Herbs need more help to go mainstream.

30/5/01

SINGAPORE, Tues: Japan and Taiwan lead the pack for commercialisation of Asian herbal and traditional medicines, but more research, quality control and regulation are needed before the industry goes mainstream, experts say.

Once confined to health food fans, herbal remedies such as feverfew, gingko and ginseng have become increasingly popular around the world. Sales in the US alone amounted to US$15 billion ($US1 = RM3.80) in 1999, compared with us$3 billion in Asia. But Asian sales, dominated by China, are lower by comparison because the remedies are considerably cheaper in the region, Kou-Hsiung Lee, professor of medicinal chemistry from the University Of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said.

"We are in an advantageous situation because we are the area where we produce the herbs," Lee said on the sidelines of an international conference organised by the American Chinese Pharmaceutical Association in Singapore this week.

About 5,000 plants have been used in traditional folk medicine, with 500 commonly prescribe in modern times.

Chinese medicine shops throughout Asia have wall-to-wall drawers filled with pungent herbs, roots and animal parts that practitioners say have curative and preventative properties when mixed in the right combinations.

Japan is as the forefront in the region despite an ongoing debate on whether to cover traditional medicines under the national health insurance scheme.   "Japan already has a sound foundation in natural product chemistry and pharmaceutical manufacture," Lee said.

Taiwan fallows closely with an ample knowledge of traditional Chinese medicine, Western-trained technical staff and strong government support, Lee said.

But the vast of number of herbs in use – combined with the poisonous effects of similar-looking substitutes – makes the management of supply and quality control vital.

"Many people feel that herbal medicines are non-toxic, that is not correct. Many are toxic," Lee said.

"To control it from the original site where the herb is produced is most important."

Chan Soo Sen, the Singapore health ministry’s senior parliamentary secretary, drew an analogy between herb harvesting and wine producing where geography and weather made a significant difference to the final product.

With the increasing commercialization of traditional medicine, dispensers of the remedies need formal training to raise professional standards, he added.

Chin said Singapore may lift its ban on certain potentially toxic Chinese medicines as standard improve.

The US Food and Drug Administration’s tentative exploration of new regulatory approaches for botanical drug products may also help the industry.

"The new classification will raise the legal status of traditional Chinese medicine, or at least some of TCM products, from food supplement to a kind a form a drug," Chan said.

"This will provide greater market opportunities and also encourage more research and development."- Reuters.