Safety assessment of botanicals: cutting through complexity

Botanical products are widely used in food supplements, traditional herbal medicines, and pharmaceuticals. Although their popularity has grown significantly in recent years, they remain associated with various challenges, such as regulatory hurdles and the inherent complexity of their natural origin. This complexity, in conjunction with misconceptions about the safety of natural products, creates a multifaceted issue for both consumers and regulators. Environmental factors, processing methods, and plant chemodiversity contribute to the unstandardized composition of botanicals, making quality control and safety assessment particularly difficult. However, advancements in metabolomics, bioinformatics, and novel toxicological approaches provide promising tools for assessing their bioactivity and safety. Despite these innovations, regulatory frameworks have struggled to keep pace. Stricter oversight, potential reclassification of certain botanicals as over-the-counter medicines, and the implementation of proper awareness campaigns are necessary to protect public health as the demand for botanical-based products continues to rise.