Safety issues affecting Chinese herbs: The case of Xanthium

The knowledge base of pharmacy medicine is changing. Even five decades ago rural people used to visit kobiraj doctors for traditional medication mostly obtained from the roots and leaves of the remote plants (As seen in old dramas and movies). During 70’s to 8o’, a modern allopathy system taken over most of it and plant medicines were completely became obsolete. However, the Bangladeshi traditional medicine is a unique conglomerate of different ethnomedical influences. Due to the geographic location and sociocultural characteristics of the country, it involves traditionally rooted elements influenced by local indigenous people and close-by Indian Ayurveda and Unani medicine. Given its inexpensive, easily accessible and well-established health services, the use of traditional medicine is an integral part of public health services in Bangladesh with its providers being deeply embedded within the local community. Recent data suggest that the utilization of traditional medicine health services in Bangladesh is widespread and plays a crucial role in providing health care for poor people, people in rural areas and for tribal people