This book focuses on efficacy, toxicity, drug interactions, and abnormal clinical laboratory tests resulting from the use of herbal remedies. Although a few herbal remedies are safe and have efficacy (for example saw palmetto), many herbal remedies are toxic.

Preface xi Contributors xiii Part I Introduction and Overview 1 1 Introduction to Complementary and Alternative Medicine 3Catherine A. Hammett-Stabler 2 Relatively Safe Herbal Remedies 19Angela M. Ferguson and Uttam Garg 3 Risk of Toxicity Associated with Unregulated Herbal Products 45Steven W. Cotten Part II Effects of Herbal Remedies On Specific Organ Systems 73 4 Herbal Medicines with Immunomodulatory Effects 75Jeffrey K. Actor 5 Kelp and Thyroid Function 125Bruce Rosenzweig 6 Herbal Remedies and the Patient with Chronic Kidney Disease 135Mariana S. Markell 7 Abnormal Liver Function Tests Due to Hepatotoxic Herbs 155Amitava Dasgupta and Catherine A. Hammett-Stabler 8 Homeopathic Medicine: Principle, Effi cacy, and Toxicity 169Amitava Dasgupta 9 Indian Ayurvedic Medicines: An Introduction 193Amitava Dasgupta 10 Tradition and Perspectives of Greco-Arab and Islamic Herbal Medicine 209Bashar Saad and Omar Said 11 Licorice and Laboratory Tests 255Salvador F. Sena Part III Drug Interactions 273 12 Drug Interactions with St. John’s Wort 275Matthew D. Krasowski and John L. Blau 13 Drug–Herb Interactions in Patients with HIV/AIDS 291Natella Y. Rakhmanina and John N. van den Anker 14 Interactions between Fruit Juices and Drugs 305Amitava Dasgupta 15 Drug Interactions with Ginkgo Biloba and Ginseng 321Ashok Tholpady and Semyon A. Risin 16 Drug Interactions with Garlic and Ginger Supplements 333Charbel Abou-Diwan and James Ritchie Part IV Contamination 351 17 Heavy Metal Toxicity and Herbal Remedies 353Christine L. H. Snozek and Loralie J. Langman 18 Adulteration of Herbal Remedies with Conventional Drugs: Role of the Clinical Laboratory 369Uttam Garg and Angela M. Ferguson 19 Beyond Herbals: An Introduction to Poisonous Plants 387Catherine A. Hammett-Stabler Part V Analytical Implications 405 20 Interferences of Herbal Remedies with Immunoassays for Therapeutic Drugs: Focus on Digoxin 407Amitava Dasgupta 21 Role of the Clinical Laboratory in Detecting Plant Poisoning 425Ronald W. McLawhon Index 443 

An evenhanded study of pharmacological interactions between Western drugs and herbal supplements Today, a significant percentage of Americans turn to complementary and alternative medicine practices. Despite their popularity and wide use, these products do not undergo the same pre-market testing for safety and efficacy that is required of pharmaceuticals. In Herbal Supplements: Efficacy, Toxicity, Interactions with Western Drugs, and Effects on Clinical Laboratory Tests, editors Amitava Dasgupta and Catherine Hammett-Stabler present a comprehensive introduction to both safe and unsafe herbal supplements. The book emphasizes the pharmacological interactions identified between Western drugs and herbal supplements, and the effects of herbal supplements on clinical laboratory tests. Herbal Supplements provides a guide to the interpretation of abnormal test results in otherwise healthy subjects due to use of herbal remedies. Focusing on interactions between herbals and pharmaceuticals, sources of contamination in herbal supplements, and analytical techniques used in the investigation of herbal remedies, the book details: Pharmacological interactions between Western drugs and herbal supplementsEffects of herbal supplements on clinical laboratory testsKey interactions between herbal supplements and various pharmaceutical drugsMedicinal plants and toxic effectsContamination of herbal supplements from metals, pharmaceuticals, and plant poisoningAnalytical techniques, including immunoassays, used in the investigation of herbal remedies Unbiased anssd literature-based, this text offers toxicologists, clinical chemists, analysts, and pharmacologists a no-nonsense take on the efficacy, toxicity, and drug interactions of herbal supplements and medicines.

"This is a wonderful addition to the field of laboratory medicine. You need this book if you ever have to answer questions on how herbal supplements affect clinical laboratory tests." (Doody's, 23 September 2011) "Summing Up: Recommended. Medical students and clinicians." (Choice, 1 August 2011) "Even though Americans rely increasingly on alternative medicine, herbal and traditional remedies do not undergo the testing for safety and efficacy as pharmaceutical drugs. In this book, editors Dasgupta (pathology and laboratory medicine, U. of Texas Medical School at Houston) and Hammett-Stabler (pathology and laboratory medicine, U. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) present a balanced and comprehensive introduction to herbal supplements, emphasizing the pharmacological interactions between herbal supplements and Western pharmaceuticals". (Booknews, 1 June 2011)