ABSTRACT
Phytotherapy is defined as the use of medicinal plants for therapeutic purposes and it uses a variety of complex vegetal structures. In public health, it is considered a type of alternative medicine, in which auto medication with herbs is common and there is a lack of quality assurance of herbal products. While the World Health Organization is proposing strategies to include complementary and alternative therapies as public health tools, in Chile this type of therapy is emerging. There is a lack of interest and underestimation of conventional medicine towards popular knowledge. At the present time, the Chilean Ministry of Health has recognized 103 plants aiming to promote the use of medicinal plants that are registered and certifed, according to the regulations of the National Control System of Pharmaceutical Products. Therefore, health care professionals should be educated about the association between pharmaceutical products and medicinal plants. Consultation systems about Phytotherapy should also be available, information should be provided about where to purchase safe herbal products and publicity about these products should be regulated.
Subject(s)
Humans , Phytotherapy , Chile , Phytotherapy/adverse effects , Phytotherapy/methods , Phytotherapy , Self MedicationABSTRACT
Phytotherapy is defined as the use of medicinal plants for therapeutic purposes and it uses a variety of complex vegetal structures. In public health, it is considered a type of alternative medicine, in which auto medication with herbs is common and there is a lack of quality assurance of herbal products. While the World Health Organization is proposing strategies to include complementary and alternative therapies as public health tools, in Chile this type of therapy is emerging. There is a lack of interest and underestimation of conventional medicine towards popular knowledge. At the present time, the Chilean Ministry of Health has recognized 103 plants aiming to promote the use of medicinal plants that are registered and certified, according to the regulations of the National Control System of Pharmaceutical Products. Therefore, health care professionals should be educated about the association between pharmaceutical products and medicinal plants. Consultation systems about Phytotherapy should also be available, information should be provided about where to purchase safe herbal products and publicity about these products should be regulated.
Subject(s)
Phytotherapy , Chile , Humans , Phytotherapy/adverse effects , Phytotherapy/methods , Phytotherapy/statistics & numerical data , Self Medication/statistics & numerical dataABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: A frequent drawback in physiology of non-human primates is that normal values for a variety of indicators (haematological, biochemical and others) are scant. METHODS: We report here the blood values in a series of 92 healthy Cebus apella (divided by sex, age and pregnancy status). Health check-ups indicated that animals were healthy for the month prior to and after the sampling. Dietary intake was estimated on the basis of two semi-balance studies. RESULTS: Values of haematological indicators, serum LDH activity, micronutrient indicators (serum copper, iron and serum ceruloplasmin concentrations, Zn-Cu-superoxide dismutase activity in erythrocytes) agreed with previous results and provide some values that were not available. Activities of liver enzymes were lower than some previously reported. CONCLUSIONS: These results provide valuable information that help understanding the physiology of C. apella.
