Herbal Medications and the FDA
Many Pharmacy Technicians have questions about herbal supplements. We know that there are drug interactions with herbal medications. But what is the FDA’s role when it comes to herbal supplements? We first need to look at what exactly is herbal supplements and how are they used.
What are herbal supplements?
Herbal supplements are products made from plants for use in the treatment and management of disease and certain medical conditions. While we have many prescription medications that are also made from plant derivatives, those products are made with purified ingredients so they must be regulated by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Herbal supplements are made and contain the entire plant or plant arts, so they are really considered food and not a medication or drug. Herbal medications are not subject to the same regulations as traditional medications.
There are many dosage forms of herbal supplements.You can take an herbal supplement in the form of a tea, a liquid, a powder and even a pill form.
The Latest Drugs Approved by the FDA
Mankena (generic: hydroxyprogesterone caproate)
Indication: to reduce the risk of preterm delivery before 37 weeks of pregnancy, in pregnant women with a history of at least one spontaneous preterm birth.
Contraindication: not intended to be used in women with a multiple pregnancy.
Drug Classification: Progestin
Gralise (generic: gabapentin)
Indication: once-daily treatment of post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN), which is pain following healing of the rash associated with shingles.
Contraindication: Do not take Gralise if you are allergic to gabapentin or any of the ingredients in Gralise.
Drug Classification: antiseizure (anticonvulsive)
*Check FDA.gov for additional information on these medications
Helpful Links
- US Food and Drug Administration - Food, drug, and medical device information, ADR reporting through Med Watch and VAERS.
- United States Pharmacopeia - Standards for medications and national formulary list.
- TOP 200 drugs - Study tools, games, flash cards to learn brand/generic.
- TOP 200 Prescription Drugs - 2009 Listing
- Top 200 DRUGS - Memorizing tool for brand/generic/indication.
- Drugs.com - Listing and search engine for classifications of drugs.
- TOP 10 Abused Drugs List - Site with detailed articles, drug pictures, and real abuse stories.
- TOP 10 Deadliest Drugs - Article on 10 deadliest drugs.
- Office of Prescription Drug Facts and Figures - Site discusses policy and drug usage including abuse.
- National Institute on Drug Abuse - Site discusses addiction of OTC and RX drugs.
- Global RPh - Listing of common drug-food interactions, drugs to be taken with/without food, warfarin interactions.
- Herbal Drug Directory - Database and search engine for herbal drug information.
- Health Castle - Common herbal-drug interactions.
- Institute for Safe Medication Practices -
- HCPCS, About.com - Explanation of Medicare codes and links for patients.
- ICD9 Data - FREE Diagnosis codes listing.
- National Institute of Health - Site has several links for pill identification and is patient friendly.
