Pharmacovigilance of herbal products in North Macedonia

Stavrova, Vesna and Lazarova, Biljana and Maksimova, Viktorija (2024) Pharmacovigilance of herbal products in North Macedonia. In: 7th Croatian Congress on Pharmacy with international participation, 16-19 May 2024, Dubrovnik.

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Abstract

Herbal products represent integral components of modern phytopfarmacy and traditional
medicine systems and have gained popularity for their perceived natural origins and
potential therapeutic benefits worldwide. However, the safety of herbal products remains
a critical concern due to variations in composition, lack of standardized manufacturing
processes, limited scientific validation and insufficient clinical studies on their efficiency.
The aim of this abstract explores the evolving landscape of pharmacovigilance in the
context of herbal products, emphasizing the need for robust surveillance systems to
monitor their safety profiles. Pharmacovigilance plays a key role in monitoring the safety
of all drugs. MALMED (Macedonian Agency for Medicines and Medical Devices) is respon-
sible for monitoring unwanted drug reactions in North Macedonia. MALMED provides
these activities through the National Pharmacovigilance Centre. The agency establishes
continuously upgrades and improves the National Pharmacovigilance System. Although,
this system allows detection of safety signals, identification of the risks of drug use, cate
gorization, assessment, minimization, communication, and prevention, to ensure
the best possible benefit/risk ratio for drugs in daily practice and promotion of ratio
nal and safe prescribing of drugs, the pharmacovigilance of herbal drugs or traditionally
herbal drugs is not deeply assessed in our country. We discuss the challenges associat
ed with assessing adverse effects, interactions, and quality control in herbal medicines.
In addition we underscore the importance of collaboration between regulatory bodies,
healthcare professionals, and traditional medicine practitioners to establish comprehen
sive pharmacovigilance frameworks. By fostering a culture of reporting, tracking, and
analyzing adverse events related to herbal products, pharmacovigilance efforts can
safely integrate herbal and traditional medicines into contemporary
healthcare practices. This abstract highlights the significance of continuous monitoring
and regulatory adaptation to ensure the responsible use of herbal products.

Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Poster)
Subjects:	Medical and Health Sciences > Health sciences Medical and Health Sciences > Other medical sciences
Divisions:	Faculty of Medical Science
Depositing User:	Viktorija Maksimova
Date Deposited:	19 Aug 2024 11:17
Last Modified:	19 Aug 2024 11:17
URI:	https://eprints.ugd.edu.mk/id/eprint/34548

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