Herbal Medicine Products Sold in Nigeria: A Pilot Survey

Background: The use of herbal medicine is believed to be on the increase. There is a gradual shift from the use of crude drugs to well packaged, developed and registered herbal medicinal product. Evidence of this trend in Nigeria is seen in the increasing number of herbal medicine products on store shelves.

Objectives: The aim of the survey was to examine and document herbal medicine products sold in retail stores, pharmacies, generally closed and open markets in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja and neighbouring localities.

Methodology: A cross-sectional study using open ended semi-structured questionnaires and data collection tool was employed; descriptive and inferential statistics were done.

Results and Discussion: Open markets primarily stocked crude drugs (95.7%). In the open markets, only 26.1% of stalls had herbal medicine products. Over 70% of herbal medicines consumed in the FCT were administered orally. Sixty-eight percent of herbal medicine products were made in Nigeria with indications centred around bitters and detoxification (26.4%), fertility and aphrodisiac (16.7%), diabetes and cardiovascular disease (10%). Only 39.3% of products had a form of NAFDAC registration/listing. In the open markets, a huge gap exists in the knowledge of branding, packaging and registration of herbal medicines.

Conclusion: There is a need to educate traditional medicine practitioners on the essence of drug development and packaging to improve acceptability, national relevance and international recognition. Herbal medicine producers must be further enlightened on the registration requirements and encouraged to register their products.