Keziah Ann Babu

ABSTRACTThe primary objective of this review is to address the issue of toxicity arising from herb–drug interactions (HDI) in patients taking complimentary systems of medicine and nutritional supplements along with prescribed medications in particular drugs for cardiovascular diseases. Patients tend to use herbal products with the belief that they are safe and harmless but this is not always true. A major population is known to have cardiovascular diseases for which they may be prescribed with multiple medications. Patients may develop undesired effects as result of concomitant use of prescription drugs with the so-called herbal products and may poorly respond to treatment. It is important to create patient understanding in the matter of HDI, so as to improve the clinical outcome. More attention to these interactions is also required on the part of healthcare professionals as well. Keywords: Herb-Drug Interactions (HDI), Complementary medicine, alternative medicine, cardiovascular toxicity, Herbal remedies.