↑ Grab this Headline Animator

Australian Consumers Investigation Uncovers Herbal Medicine Secrets

May 11, 2005 -- The magazine of the Australian Consumers' Association, Choice, appear frustrated by the "lack of transparency" of the companies they approached for evidence that their St John's wort products work. These findings show the difficulty of product choices for the 46% of Australians who use herbal medicines.



Most of the 27 companies approached by Choice either: did not respond; refused to respond; had an inadequate response; or stated that what is in their product is "confidential".



Due to their natural origin and the complex way they are made, one brand will be totally different chemically and therapeutically to another brand. In researching St John's wort products Professor Stough of Swinburne University, Melbourne has found highly variable results.



The challenge that Choice has uncovered is how does the consumer know which brand to select. To know which St John's wort product can support its claims, Professor Stough explains, "it is essential to check that the brand is exactly the same as the one used in the trials".



One company in the survey, Flordis herbal medicines, was happy to provide all the evidence that Choice requested, including a certificate confirming that their brand, Remotiv, is the identical product tested in the leading St John's wort clinical trials.



"Herbal medicines are complex products, and clinical trial results on one brand cannot be used to back another product" points out Professor Con Stough. Due to the reliability of the product, he has recently selected Remotiv as the St John's wort of choice for research into new uses of the herb.



"To eliminate uncertainty for health professionals and their patients, Flordis selected Remotiv, a special St John's wort product from Swiss company, Zeller AG, a company with 135 years of herbal expertise" explains Nigel Pollard, Managing Director of Flordis.



"Zeller were able to show us their cultivations of St John's wort and the harvesting, extraction and manufacturing processes they have developed to harness the potency of the herb. They have had the confidence these in superior standards to invest millions of dollars in clinical trials and prove that Remotiv works", Mr. Pollard explains. This clinical evidence has led to Remotiv becoming a global phenomenon with over 6 million users worldwide.



"We were happy to provide the information Choice requested concerning Remotiv, including the excellent clinical trial evidence on the product", says Mr. Pollard. "If Choice were to ask us the same question about our other products, we would be equally happy to provide it".



"I see it as responsibility to our customers to be transparent about the credentials of our products", concludes Mr. Pollard.



For more information please contact Nigel Pollard, Managing Director Flordis.



Tel. +612 9431 7200 Fax. +612 9431 7272

e-mail e-mail protected from spam bots or visit www.flordis.com.au



Professor Con Stough co-coordinates the Herbal and Nutrient Medicine Research Unit at Swinburne University, Melbourne. He is one of Australia's leading experts on herbal medicines, having conducted many herbal clinical trials. Professor Stough is well known to the Australian public for developing the National IQ Test on Channel 9.



References

Woelk H. British Medical Journal BMJ (2000); 321:526 - trial comparison with imipramine (Tofranil)



Schrader E. International Clinical Psychopharmacology (2000); 15: 61 - trial comparison with fluoxetine (Prozac)

↑ Grab this Headline Animator

---

This article has been robotically scanned and tagged by Prnewsnow with the following search tags. No human manipulation of these tags take place.
| Zalemark | Zalemark Products | companies trade vietnam |

---

4938 readers online...

, Local News