Poor Standard, Barrier to Acceptance of Herbal Medicines – SON

Poor standard has been identified as a major barrier to the full acceptance and breakthrough of herbal medicines in the local and international markets.

Prof. Kunle Olubayo, the Chief of Staff to the Director-General (D-G) Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON), made this known to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday.

He spoke on the sidelines of the 9th African Day of Standardization 2022 Symposium, organized by SON in collaboration with the African Organizations for Standardization (ARSO) in Lagos.

He said that the major reason Nigerian herbal/traditional medicines seemed to have gone nowhere was because they did not meet standard.

He said that herbal medicines were very important to healthcare delivery, contributing significantly to universal health coverage in Nigeria.

According to him, some herbal medicines get to the market without adequate research and clinical trials to confirm their safety and efficacy.

Olubayo, who lamented that some herbal medicine often carried fake SON or NAFDAC registration number, stressed the need for standardization of the herbal products to secure people’s confidence in them

“Despite the widespread use, traditional/herbal medicines have not yet been fully accepted both in the local and international market due to its inability to meet standard.

“And that has been a major barrier to the excel, growth and development of herbal medicines,” he said.

Olubayo said there was need for synergy between herbal medicine practitioners and SON as well as NAFDAC, to pave the way for quality assurance and standardization of herbal medicines.

He, however, explained that SON was already working with a 10-member Committee to see how to bring the natural products to standard, which some of the herbal practitioners were members.

Olubayo noted that the quality control, proper identification of medicinal plants, standardization of active ingredients and chemical compounds in herbal medicine needed to be addressed.

According to him, if the herbal products can be produced to meet the required standard, it will create massive patronage not only in the local market, but also in the international market.

He advised that herbal medicine practitioners should take their business seriously and liaise with appropriate standard certifying authorities to see how their products could be made to meet standard.

“We must appreciate the fact that the herbal medicines we have are quite efficacious and there is the need for us to tap into the indigenous knowledge.

“It is with standard that you cross borders; for example in Africa, if we agree on a particular standard and I followed them in my little village industry in corner of Nigeria.

“It means that the person sitting somewhere in Kigali or Cape Town will accept that product because it has been produced according to what he understands and what he agrees is efficacious and safe,” he said.
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