A critical examination of labeling practices in herbal medicinal products

The present work proposed to research the labels of some industrialized and compounded herbal medicines, authorized for commercialization by ANVISA. It assessed the agreement with the rules recommended in the current national legislation. 150 labels of herbal medicines composed of 42 medicinal plants, acquired in the months of August and September 2017 in Belo Horizonte, were analyzed. The analysis was made as to the presence of items according to the Resolution of the Collegiate Board nº26, of May 13, 2014. The result confirmed that many labels were in disagreement with the legislation. Of the 150 samples, 58 were inadequately packaged and only 21 samples presented important information as contraindications. None of the phytotherapics analyzed in this work had, on their labels, information about the adverse effects of medicines. When making a comparison with the previous studies, it appears that there has been an improvement in the labeling of herbal medicines. However, they still require regulatory actions, as they fail to provide important information about the correct and safe use of these medicinal plants.