2nd Edition of Pharma R&D and Drug Discovery World Conference 2026

Abstract

In the present scenario, the demand for traditional Herbal products is growing exponentially throughout the world during the last few decades. However, the purity of these herbal products exposes the human population to multiple risks and creates major concerns for various health agencies on both national and international levels. Adulteration of herbal products with undeclared synthetic drugs or by mixing the analogs of prescription drugs that are created by replacing or adding functional groups to the original chemical are the recent major problems since they may cause adverse side effects. The illegally added adulterants are frequently anorexic, anxiolytic, and antidepressant pharmaceuticals. As a result, the World Health Organization (WHO); the European Union (EU), and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration( FDA ) are expanding their alert to consumers about tainted phytopharmaceuticals that contain undeclared, active pharmaceutical ingredients. . The adulterants included prescription medications such as sildenafil and fluoxetine, withdrawn medications including sibutramine and phenolphthalein, and unapproved drugs including dapoxetine and designer steroids. Twenty percent of the adulterated supplements contained 2 or more undeclared drugs, for example, weight loss supplements containing both an anorectic and a laxative. Most supplements adulterated with drugs were marketed as weight loss, sexual enhancement, or sports supplements

Consumers may unknowingly take products laced with varying quantities of approved prescription drug ingredients, controlled substances, and untested and unstudied pharmaceutically active ingredients. As advice to the consumers, when using any product marketed as a dietary supplement, the buyers should check with their health care professionals about any nutrients needed in addition to a regular diet.

Keywords: Safety and Quality ; Traditional Herbal Medicinal products; adulteration; potential risks ; WHO; FDA; EU; undeclared ingredients