Not many medicinal herbs can win much affection like Crinum latifolium L., when dozens of products associated with this precious medicinal herb have been created only for the past one decade. Several products are rumored “to dispel fears of tumors” and treat uterine fibroids effectively though they are just supplements. Many people even buy Crinum latifolium L. leaves without clear origin on the market, and then drink its decoction regardless of the warnings from scientists. Although this is a valuable medicinal herb, users need to be careful as the quality control of medicine is badly controlled at present.
 

Cong An Nhan Dan Newspaper 2012 March, 23rd, 2012

Which plant can cure diseases? Crinum latifolium L. is known as a precious medicinal herb in folk for the treatment of tumor diseases. Since the 1990s, folks have rumored of the effects of Crinum latifolium L. fresh leaves to treat uterine fibroids and cancer in women as well as prostate fibroids and cancer in men. Currently many people are treated by words of mouth that is to buy Crinum latifolium L. leaves, decoct, and then drink daily. However, according to Pharmacist - Dr. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Tram – the scientist has received Kovalevskaya Award with research work on Crinum latifolium L., - patients should not use products derived from Crinum latifolium L. leaves without validated origin.

As the pursuer of Crinum latifolium L. since 1990, Dr. Tram said users must be very careful with all remedies associated with Crinum latifolium L. even though the effects of Crinum latifolium L. against tumors are proven through scientific and clinical research. However, those effects are just correct with Vietnamese Royal Virgin (its scientific name is Crinum latifolium L. belonging Amaryllidaceae family). Only scientists can correctly identify Crinum latifolium L. based on results of genetic studies (DNA). Layman cannot differentiate based on plant morphology because Vietnam has seven varieties with the same appearance as Crinum latifolium L. but different in genes (DNA). Meanwhile, they have toxicity affecting the liver, kidney, and other body organs. Therefore, if you use products from raw materials without quality control, you not only get ineffective treatment but also do harm greatly to your health, even threaten to your life.

Besides, even when you choose the right Crinum latifolium L. but its plantation does not require standards of soil, climate, water resources, cultivation process, collection time and formulation method, that medicinal materials don’t satisfy the content of bioactive substances for medicine production. Therefore, when using this medicinal herb, people should be cautious by learning about its origin thoroughly and other therapeutic medicines that are allowed for circulation by the Ministry of Health.

What is the remedy?

Since the recognition of real effects of the research work on a medicine from Crinum latifolium L. for uterine fibroids and BPH by Pharmacist – Dr. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Tram along with her colleagues at home and abroad in 2004, a series of products marked Crinum latifolium L. have come into the market. Preliminary estimates are that there are a dozen of categories with eye-catching packaging design containing pharmaceutical value, usage, and indication. However, most of them are supplements extracted in form of capsules and sold in pharmacies. If not reading carefully, consumers are very easy to mistake them for therapeutic medicines. Many of them are rumored to “dispel worries about tumors” or “improve treatment efficacy on fibroids and cysts”, and even reduce tumors while they are just supplements. This makes many patients confused and embarrassed because they don’t know exactly which one has been studied from correct Crinum latifolium L. Due to the advertisements of many supplements, people easily confuse them with therapeutic medicines. Meanwhile, Drug Administration – the Ministry of Health assert that there are only two products on the market recognized as therapeutic medicines from Crinum latifolium L. including Crila of Thien Duoc Co., Ltd (with registration number is V1167-H12-10 for BHP and uterine fibroids) and Tadimax of Danapha for BHP but not for uterine fibroids. Crila capsule has been clinically tested in hospitals including VN National Institute of Gerontology, National Hospital of Traditional Medicine, Ho Chi Minh City Hospital of Traditional Medicine, the National Maternity Hospital, and Tu Du Hospital, as well as evaluated to have treatment efficacy for BPH at 89.18% and for uterine fibroids at 79.5% by the Council of Science and Technology - the Ministry of Health. This product is researched and manufactured under criteria of modern medicines such as GMP-WHO (Good Manufacture Practices), GLP (Good Laboratory Practices), and GSP (Good Storage Practices). Recently, 15-ha-Crinum latifolium L. plantation in Long Thanh - Dong Nai providing materials for Crila production of Thien Duoc Co., Ltd has been certified in accordance with GACP-WHO criterion (GACP - Good Agriculture and Collection Practices for medicinal plants as recommended by World Health Organization). This is a new advance in controlling, managing, and creating a source of clean medicinal materials for medicine production with high quality, safety, and efficacy. Reportedly, this is the first Crinum latifolium L. plantation in Vietnam under this criterion.

Worries of the insiders

Under the perspective of a pharmacist spending years of medicinal material research, Dr. Tram shared there has currently no close management in medicinal materials for medicine production, herbal medicines and other supplements. We just manage the outputs mainly while the input – medicinal herbs used for medicine and supplement production isn’t controlled. In addition, the medicine production process is not standardized and its stages are not controlled, which makes it impossible to stabilize medicines’ quality. Conditions of facilities in many factories, particularly private ones are rudimentary, prone to infection. Some of them don’t examine the inputs, so herbal products have low quality, and remedies changed from traditional formulation into modern one don’t satisfy the content of bioactive substances to produce medicine, affecting treatment efficacy. Thus, to help patients choose the right products, I suggest that it is extremely important to have propaganda programs about the differences of supplements and therapeutic medicines to improve patients’ knowledge, avoid the confusion of therapeutic medicines and supplements. Patients themselves also need to raise awareness about prevention and treatment. Remember, we must use therapeutic medicines to treat diseases; supplements are only used for supporting treatment

Reported by Tran Thang