Screening of Herbal Medicines for Neurotoxicity: Principles and Methods

Although there are some benefits derived from the use of medicinal herbs as remedies, some of them are associated with neurological adverse effects. Such potential hazards could be caused by several factors, including intrinsic toxicity of herbal products, contamination, adulteration, and so on. To assess the toxicity of the herbal products, regulatory institutes usually require a list of tests to identify the cause of herbal neurotoxicity. This chapter aims to review screening methods of herbal medicines for neurotoxicity. Despite advanced procedures used to assess the toxicity of herbal products, considerable efforts are required to provide information on their safety aspects. There are many problems with neurological assessments, which are not only limited to the herbal aspects but also apply to neurotoxicity tests. Concerted efforts are needed to establish databases that can be used in the assessment tools to predict the toxicity of herbal products.