Dr. Anita Chen Marshall DAOM, Ph.D, Pharm.D, L.Ac. has dual doctoral degrees in Pharmacy and Oriental Medicine. During her more than 40 years of Western and Eastern patient care experiences, she witnessed a great need to supplement Western medicine with alternative approaches for treating acute and chronic illnesses and pain management. In addition to her private practice in Alameda, she has been giving lectures and teaching a course on Herb and Drug Interactions for the last 15 years in various TCM schools in the US. She was an Adjunct Faculty at ACTCM at CIIS, San Francisco; Yo San University, L.A.; Five Branches University, San Jose; Bastyr University, Seattle.

Herb-Drug-Vitamin Interactions

With more than 170 million Americans (77%) taking dietary supplements, more and more patients are being treated simultaneously with both Western and Eastern medicine nowadays. It is quite common for a patient to seek herbal supplements while taking several prescription medications. Both patients and healthcare professionals are becoming more alert to the potential for occasional dangerous adverse herb-drug interactions.

The Drug and Herbal Supplement Industries have been growing by leaps and bounds in recent years. In 2021, overall pharmaceutical expenditures in the US grew 7.7% compared to 2020, for a total of $576.9 billion. The U.S. vitamin & supplement manufacturing industry is worth $35.6 billion as of 2022.

And because many dietary supplements are touted as “natural” and are often sold in health food stores, it’s easy to assume they’re harmless. Safety has become a major topic of concern and discussion.

This lecture will provide an overview of Herb and Drug Interactions: Pharmacokinetic interactions and Pharmacodynamic interactions; therapeutic effects and interactions of commonly used herbs and drugs, and serious herb-drug interactions in various illnesses that may cause life-threatening conditions (i.e. asthma, CNS disorders, diabetes, heart attack, hypertension, insomnia, stroke, and pain management, etc)

As Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and herbal supplements grow and thrive in the United States, it is of vital importance that healthcare professionals be aware of the potentially dangerous herb-drug-vitamin interactions. This knowledge will also improve treatment effectiveness and reduce the skyrocketing costs of medical care.