Sir,Ancient literatures like Chinese, Unani, Ayurveda, and Siddha extol the virtues of plant-derived medicines. Their preventive and therapeutic benefits have been defined for almost all ailments. The long-standing use of herbal medicines and the belief that they are safe and inexpensive have collectively contributed to their mass appeal. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that about 80% of the population in developing countries relies on herbal medicines at least for their primary healthcare and an equal proportion in developed countries have tried this approach at least once. However, there are increasing number of reports in the literature that are questioning the quality of herbal medicines and it is feared that the public is being exposed to a major health risk due to misidentification, adulteration, and contamination of these "health products."
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