An overview of the Importance of Quality Evaluation and Validation of Medicinal Plants

Abstract

Phytoconstituents of medicinal plants and their derived formulations are evaluated for quality, safety, and efficacy. In recent years, most people are turning to the use of natural compounds or herbs or their formulations for the prevention or management of different disease conditions. Since phytotherapy is a common component of medical treatment, its efficacy and safety should be required, and the necessity of pharmacological, toxicological, and clinical trials is evident, as noted by Bauer and Tittel nearly 20 years ago. Different methods, such as physical, chemical, and biological, are used for the quality evaluation and standardization of herbal products and their formulations. For metabolomics profiling, a range of chromatographic and hyphenation with spectroscopic techniques, such as high-performance thin layer chromatography, high-performance liquid chromatography, liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry, gas chromatography–mass spectrometry, near infrareds, high-performance thin layer chromatography–mass spectrometry, and high-performance liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry, are the effective analytical approaches for quality measurement and standardization of medicinal plants and their extracts and herbal formulations. The processes of a quality evaluation and standardization paradigm are described in this article with the goal of ensuring and preserving the clinical efficacy, quality and safety, and consistent biologically active molecules of medicinal plants and their products.