Producers of herbal remedies already in the market have been advised to go beyond safety and support research in identifying the active ingredients in their formulations.
That way, their products will be known to treating a specific type of disease having identified the ingredients combined in traditional medicine.
A Deputy Director of Research in the Biochemistry and Nutrition Department at the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research, NIMR, Dr. Oluwagbemiga Olanrewaju Aina, made the call at the Institution’s monthly briefing in Lagos.
While giving findings from a six-year evaluation of 46 herbal medicinal products and plants sold in the country, Dr Aina said, “that all the remedies tested were found to be safe when administered to animals, but none demonstrated proven efficacy against the illnesses they claim to treat”.
He noted, “while safety is important, it does not automatically translate to effectiveness”.
Dr. Aina while advising herbal producers and consumers to exercise caution, he encourage practitioners to subject their preparations to proper scientific testing and warned members of the public to be mindful of what they consume, especially when efficacy is in doubt.
“Safe does not mean effective,” he emphasized, calling for stronger collaboration between herbal producers and researchers to protect patients and advance reliable alternatives in healthcare.
Supporting the presentation, A Director of Research at NIMR, Professor Oliver Ezechi, explained that while safety is the starting point, it is only a part of the process in drug development.
He says, “the fact that a herbal product is safe does not mean it works, noting that, Safety means it will not immediately harm you, but whether it will treat the illness it claims to cure or not is another issue”.
Ezechi expressed concern over the inconsistent nature of many of the products tested, noting that some batches contained traces of conventional drugs such as antimalarial or even HIV medications.
“Mixing unrelated compounds into herbal concoctions is unscientific. One batch cannot contain something different from another batch.
That is not how medicine works,” he added.
He said, the process still takes years. Clinical trials are often described as the “graveyard of drugs” because most candidate medicines fail at some stage of testing.
Despite these realities, he lamented, many Nigerians continue to embrace unproven miracle cures announced through press briefings or social media.
Talking about Malaria, the Director pointed out that a lot of people still self-diagnose without proper testing.
He stressed that the only way to confirm malaria is by detecting the parasite in the bloodstream.
While NIMR’s research has shown that malaria prevalence has declined significantly in urban areas due to interventions, rural communities remain heavily affected.
Relying on herbal remedies that do not work, he cautioned, can worsen the situation.
“Modern medicine, he noted, identifies active compounds and reproduces them using biotechnology, a more sustainable and consistent approach”.
Despite the challenges, NIMR urged herbal producers not to abandon their work but to remain patient and scientific.
“We are not saying people should stop researching herbal medicine.
But the products must go through the right process.
They must prove both safety and efficacy,” Ezechi averred.
A Research Fellow in Microbiology and Public Health, at NIMR, Dr Adeola Afis stated that his recent investigation of Salmonella Eyntherical Specie, indicates that there are resistance to some drugs.
He said that out of the two hundred and seventy – six genos that was analysed, almost all carried amino glyco Resistance Gens and more than half carried resistant gen to some drugs and resistance drugs has increased over the years especially with the frontline drugs.
Talking about Hepatitis B, Dr Oluwatoyin Awodero, another Research Fellow at NIMR, said Nigeria had been categorized as an endemic country for hepatitis B for the past six decades despite efforts by states trying to suppress the burden, hence the reason for the research.
The Researchers advised Nigerians to understand that because something is safe does not mean it is effective, adding that, taking remedies that do not work only allows diseases like malaria or HIV to persist, sometimes with fatal consequences.
They insisted that, tradition must not be merged with science because they are different.