The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control has announced a strategic partnership with the Nigeria Natural Medicine Development Agency to advance the development of safe, effective, and scientifically validated herbal medicines in Nigeria.
The collaboration aims to ensure that indigenous herbal products meet international safety and efficacy standards through well-structured clinical trials.
In a statement issued on Sunday by NAFDAC’s media consultant, Sayo Akintola, the agency’s Director-General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, said Nigerian herbal medicine practitioners possess the expertise to produce world-class natural remedies but must embrace scientific validation.
“We know that herbal medicine works, but we must determine scientifically the safe dosage levels. Below a certain level, patients will be safe, but above it, there could be damage to vital organs such as the liver and kidneys,” Adeyeye stated.
“The fact that a product is natural doesn’t mean it’s completely safe—that’s where NAFDAC regulation and control come in.”
Adeyeye noted that about 80 per cent of Africans rely on herbal remedies for primary healthcare, according to the World Health Organisation.
She said NAFDAC’s current initiative would bridge the gap between traditional knowledge and modern science.
She explained that NAFDAC provides two categories of approvals for herbal products.
“The first type is a listing (L) approval, granted after toxicological safety tests have been conducted with satisfactory results. These products are listed for two years and bear NAFDAC numbers ending with ‘L’.
The second category requires clinical trials to prove efficacy. Once the product passes such trials, it receives full registration, valid for five years,” she added.
The NAFDAC boss identified the high cost of clinical trials as a major challenge discouraging many herbal medicine producers from pursuing full validation.
“If you have a herbal medicine but cannot scientifically prove its efficacy and safety, NAFDAC cannot grant it full registration,” she warned.
Adeyeye revealed that although thousands of herbal products have been listed, only a few have undergone full clinical evaluation with verifiable outcomes.
She recalled that NAFDAC established the Herbal Medicine Products Committee shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic to promote collaboration among researchers, practitioners, and government agencies.
“We are working to identify selected herbal medicines that have met regulatory requirements for clinical trials. Once proven effective and safe, they can be fully registered and included in the national formulary for herbal medicines,” she disclosed.
NAFDAC, according to Adeyeye, is also seeking funding support to help traditional medicine practitioners carry out clinical trials, noting that such research is capital-intensive but essential for global acceptance of Nigerian herbal products.
She added that the agency has continued to engage practitioners through stakeholder meetings to educate them on registration standards and best practices for product safety and efficacy.
The partnership with NNMDA, she said, will accelerate the process of transforming Nigeria’s rich traditional medicine heritage into globally recognized, scientifically validated healthcare solutions.
