Push for 10 more Thai herbs to be added to National Drug List
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The Public Health Ministry has announced a plan to push for an additional 10 Thai herbs to be put on the National Drug List in the next three years.
Public Health Minister Pradit Sinthawanarong presided over the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Development of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine Department (DTTAMD), the Food and Drug Administration and the Medical Sciences Department for the listing of the herbs.
Pradit said the current National Drug List, which has 878 items, contains 71 Thai herbs, or 8 per cent of the total.
DTTAMD chief Somchai Nijpanich said studies were being conducted to back the request for the addition of the herbs subject to the MoU.
The 10 herbs are Puerariamirifica (khao kreua khao), mulberry, turmeric, turmeric extract, Bacopa monnieri (promi), Curcuma xanthoriza (wan chak modluk), Kaempferia parviflora (krachai dam), Gynostemma phataphyllum (panjakhan), chilli and guava leaf.
Somchai also said the value of Thai herb usage at nationwide hospitals last year reached Bt360 million, or 1.82 per cent of all the medicines used.
Food and Drug Administration chief Boonchai Somboonsuk said his agency is formulating a good-manufacturing-practice standard for herbal medicines.
