Formulary on herbal medicine in Malta

Julienne Galea, a final-year pharmacy student, has compiled a herbal medicine formulary providing information from reliable, and well-referenced sources about the herbs available locally. The formulary lists herbs imported in Malta in the form of an Microsoft Word A5 document, using the British National Formulary (BNF) format.

In an earlier study by Sarah Spiteri Staines it had been shown that pharmacists are not always aware of the quality and safety issues associated with herbal products and the sources they refer to have insufficient information about the side effects, contra-indications and possible interactions.

Nevertheless, patients still use herbal medicines in addition to, or instead of, conventional medicine, regardless of pharmacists' views and whether or not pharmacies supply such products. Lack of pharmacist intervention may have implications for individual patients' public health and pharmaceutical care.

To compile the formulary, Galea contacted suppliers and obtained their consent to include information on the herbs into the formulary and also made reference to books, journals and reliable Internet sites.

It features an alphabetical list of herbs including information like: common name, scientific name, indications, cautions, contra-indications, side-effects, drug interactions, dose, trade, name, dosage form, ingredients and net price per quantity pack. A section at the back of the formulary includes drug herb interactions and an indications index.

The formulary provides healthcare professionals with sufficient information to assist them to advise patients who choose to use herbal medicine. The formulary can help pharmacists determine the advantages and disadvantages of any herb being supplied, give advice based on reliable information and so eliminate doubt when supplying herbs with conventional drugs.#