The Director General, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, (NAFDAC) Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye has warned Nigerians to use herbal medicines with caution in order to prevent avoidable death and complications.
She gave the warning in Abuja to commemorate the World Herbal Medicine Day on Tuesday August 31, 2021.
She warned that, ‘’The general public should use herbal medicine with care. First of all, we don’t know the quantity that you are supposed to take. And the fact that it is natural doesn’t mean it is not toxic’’.
Speaking further, she said ‘’toxicity is not about the volume consumed. It is not about the amount.
Something can be in a micro quantity and kill. It just depends on the type of drug or chemical. It is extremely important not to take it as you see it. Just because you prepare it in your house doesn’t mean you can drink it like water. It may be dangerous’.
She advised that, for safety reasons, no liquid herbal formulation should be ingested after 14 days of preparation, and such medicines should always be kept refrigerated.
The NAFDAC DG made this known in a statement by the Agency’s Resident Media Consultant, Sayo Akintola, on Monday, saying that after 14 days if it is liquid, it may start to develop bacteria that can make people sick.
‘’It’s the measure, quantity and then the stability.’’
According to her, the problem associated with herbal medicine are many because our people don’t understand that it is all supposed to be driven by science.
‘’If you prepare a herbal medicine in liquid form you don’t know how stable the medicine is going to be in water. If it is not stable and it is degrading to another thing, it may hurt.’’ Daily Independent.