The herbal supplements
The FDA considers herbal supplements as foods, not medicines. So they are not subject to the same testing, manufacturing, and labeling standards and regulations as medicines.
You can now see labels that explain how herbs can influence different actions in the body. But herbal supplement labels are not permitted to say that herbs treat specific health conditions. This is because herbal supplements are not subject to clinical trials or to the same manufacturing standards as prescription or traditional over-the-counter medicines. There is no research that proves a certain herb cures or treats a health problem or prevents a certain condition.
For example, St. John’s wort is a popular herbal supplement. It’s thought to be useful for treating depression in some cases. A product label on St. John’s wort might say that it “enhances mood.” But it can’t claim to treat a specific condition, such as depression.
Herbal supplements, unlike medicines, do not need to be standardized to make sure of batch-to-batch consistency. Some manufacturers may use the word standardized on a supplement label. But it may not mean the same thing from one manufacturer to the next.
