Tuesday’s Daily Mail published extracts from Rose Shapiro’s book ‘ Suckers: How Alternative Medicine makes Fools of us All'. Although it takes a predictable and mainly unsubstantiated stance on the perils of all alternative therapies, I thought I would comment on her section on herbal medicines. The usual suspects are paraded before the reader as examples of unsafe herbs. Comfrey (Symphytum officinale), Lobelia (Lobelia inflata), Gingko (Gingko biloba) and St John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum) all appear in the article as herbs that have little effect on health whilst having dangerous side-effects.

Comfrey was investigated a decade ago for its possible liver cancer effects. To do the investigation, alkaloids were extracted from the comfrey then fed to rats in amounts that would not have been consumed under normal circumstances. As you can see, this research in no way mimicked the traditional use of comfrey in humans, where the whole herb is taken and in small amounts. Since the research was released medical herbalists have had an informal agreement that comfrey root will only be used externally, and the leaf, that contains hardly any alkaloid, to be used as a tea. To this day research has never shown that comfrey is dangerous to humans if taken as a traditional preparation and in traditional doses.

Lobelia and Gingko both have definite and positive effects on their target systems (lobelia on respiration and gingko on the circulation) and in doing so it is extrapolated that they may interfere with orthodox medicines being taken alongside the herbs. In clinical practice no problems have been observed and nothing is recorded in the literature of historical use to suggest serious side-effects occur. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) list both herbs on their website without any listed side-effects. However, Lobelia is an herb that needs to be taken under professional guidance as the dosage is important for its safe use.

St Johns wort has been shown to be as effective as orthodox anti-depressants for treating mild to moderate depression, and the research states that this is without causing any of the side-effects associated with orthodox medication for this disorder. However, it is metabolised by the liver using the same pathways as a lot of orthodox drugs. For most drugs this isn’t significant, but for some powerful orthodox drugs it can have the effect of potentiating or reducing the therapeutic effect. St John wort over-the-counter products carry the advice to seek professional guidance if you are taking orthodox medicines and want to combine them with medicines from your general practitioner.

This is sound advice for anyone with a pre-existing serious medical condition or for those who are taking orthodox drugs. Medical Herbalists are well aware of the precautions that need to be taken in such circumstances and are able to prescribe a medication suitable for a person’s individual needs. They can work with your orthodox treatment so that you can benefit from both, whilst liaise with your general practitioner as your treatment progresses.

Herb Society members may be interested in an article by Adrian McDermott a medical herbalist, that appeared in Herbs Vol 25 No 2 2000 entitled 'St John's Wort - A Herbalists Perspective'.

Jenny Jones FNIMH