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Letters to the Editor
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St John's wort
Peddling products of dubious safety, quality and efficacy
From Mr P. Penson
I was not surprised to read your article “Confidence in St John’s
wort misplaced?” (PJ, 12 June, p731), which described a recent paper
questioning the efficacy of this product when used as a treatment for depression.
I am sceptical of many herbal “medicines” for a number of reasons.
First, they play on the public perception that “natural is safe”.
Pharmacists know this not to be the case, given the extensive range of
drugs with which St John’s wort is known to interact. Secondly, the
evidence base for many of the supposed uses of these products is shoddy,
and thirdly, herbal products do not have to meet the same criteria of pharmaceutical
quality as do conventional medicines.
This is not to say that there is no benefit to be gained from herbal products.
Some of our most successful medicines, such as digoxin and aspirin, are
the result of an application of good science to folk remedies. If it is
the case that these herbs we sell are of medicinal use, then we should
work towards identifying and extracting the active ingredients, and marketing
them as conventional pharmaceuticals. How can we hold ourselves up as health
professionals when we are peddling products of dubious safety, quality
and efficacy to an unsuspecting public?
Peter Penson
Fourth-Year Student
University of Wales, Cardiff |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal