State Key laboratory of Modern Chinese Medicine, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin 300193, China.
Complement Ther Med. 2012 Feb-Apr;20(1-2):100-6. doi: 10.1016/j.ctim.2011.09.004. Epub 2011 Nov 1.
The popularity of herbal medicines has risen worldwide. This increase in usage renders safety issues important. Many adverse events of herbal medicines can be attributed to the poor quality of the raw materials or the finished products. Different types of herbal medicines are associated with different problems. Quality issues of herbal medicines can be classified into two categories: external and internal. In this review, external issues including contamination (e.g. toxic metals, pesticides residues and microbes), adulteration and misidentification are detailed. Complexity and non-uniformity of the ingredients in herbal medicines are the internal issues affecting the quality of herbal medicines. Solutions to the raised problems are discussed. The rigorous implementation of Good Agricultural and Collection Practices (GACP) and Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) would undoubtedly reduce the risk of external issues. Through the use of modern analytical methods and pharmaceutical techniques, previously unsolved internal issues have become solvable. Standard herbal products can be manufactured from the standard herbal extracts.
草药在全球范围内越来越受欢迎。这种使用量的增加使得安全性问题变得重要。许多草药的不良反应可归因于原材料或成品的质量差。不同类型的草药与不同的问题有关。草药的质量问题可分为两类：外部和内部。在这篇综述中，详细介绍了外部问题，包括污染（例如有毒金属、农药残留和微生物）、掺假和鉴定错误。草药成分的复杂性和非均一性是影响草药质量的内部问题。讨论了解决提出的问题的方法。严格执行良好农业和采集规范（GACP）和良好生产规范（GMP）无疑会降低外部问题的风险。通过使用现代分析方法和制药技术，以前无法解决的内部问题变得可以解决。可以从标准草药提取物中制造出标准草药产品。
