Foreword

With the expansion in the use of traditional medicine worldwide, safety and efficacy as well as quality control of herbal medicines are receiving extra ordinary importance and popularity and have become important concerns for both health authorities and the public.

The challenge now is to ensure that herbal medicine is used properly and to determine how research and evaluation of herbal medicine should be carried out. Standards, technical guidance and information on these issues are increasingly requested by authority and manufacturers. Recently there is an emerging trend in research to support the biological activities of the traditional medicinal plants.

There is no doubt that establishing a document whose purpose is to provide a scientific summary of all data available on the safety and efficacy of the herbal substances/preparations intended for medicinal use is a must. The Egyptian Herbal Monograph will be considered as the first step to achieve the purpose of promotion of the use of herbal medicines, to serve as a model for the development of national formularies and to improve the quality and value of research in traditional herbal medicine.