Herb-drug interaction, the fall out of poor communication between doctors and patients

There has been a significant worldwide increase in the use of herbal medicine in recent years (1). Herbal products are widely consumed by patients all over the world, mostly as a concomitant medication with the conventional allopathic medicines for different medical conditions (2). The reason for the growing popularity of herbal medicines is that it is widely perceived as natural, safe and more compatible with the philosophical beliefs of the patients (3). Previous studies show that 25% of individuals taking a prescription drug or an over-the-counter drug were also consuming one or more herbal medicines (4). Though we lack Indian data regarding the extent of the concomitant use of herbal products with conventional medicine, it is commonly perceived that in the Indian society, along with conventional medicines, there is also widespread, unreported self-medication with different kinds of herbal medicines. Every nook and corner of the Indian cities has the presence of traditional healers who practice unregulated and unsupervised herbal medical care. Most often, patients take herbal medicines based on the advice of family, friends and traditional healers, rather than on the advice of registered ayurvedic practitioners.