The European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines & HealthCare (EDQM) has published two documents, a guide and a leaflet, on herbal food supplements, one targeting healthcare professionals, the other consumers. The electronic versions of these documents can be downloaded from FreePub, the EDQM’s free publications platform:
- Herbal food supplements – Guide for healthcare professionals
- Herbal food supplements – Leaflet for consumers – Understanding herbal food supplements
These types of supplements, described as “concentrated sources of nutrients or other substances that are intended to support, enhance or optimise the healthy function of the human body”, are increasingly available to consumers, and their consumption has raised concerns about their safe and appropriate use, quality, potential interactions and misleading claims.
Enabling consumers to make informed choices and providing healthcare professionals with structured, practical recommendations are both part of the EDQM’s mission to protect public health.
These documents highlight safety considerations, key counselling points, common misconceptions, regulatory aspects and the importance of consulting a healthcare professional before purchasing or using such products, particularly in the case of special or vulnerable populations, such as pregnant or breastfeeding women and elderly people. They also emphasise the need to follow labelling instructions and healthcare professionals’ recommendations to minimise misuse and potential interactions with medicines and/or other food supplements, and to purchase herbal food supplements from reliable sources.
These documents were drafted by a multidisciplinary working group under the overall co-ordination of the Committee of Experts on Quality and Safety Standards in Pharmaceutical Practices and Pharmaceutical Care (CD-P-PH/PC) to provide practical, harmonised information and guidance with a view to promoting the safe and appropriate use of herbal food supplements, minimising potential risks associated with these products, and reinforcing healthcare professionals’ role in counselling and educating consumers on their use.
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