‘Safe does mot mean effective’—NIMR warns Nigerians against unproven herbal cures

The Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR) has warned Nigerians not to mistake the safety of herbal remedies for proof of their effectiveness, even as a six-year study revealed that none of the locally available preparations tested had any demonstrable efficacy against the diseases they claim to cure.

Presenting findings from the study, at a press conference, organised by NIMR, in Lagos, the research institute, disclosed that 46 herbal products and plants were subjected to rigorous laboratory analysis. All were found to be safe when tested in animal models, but none passed the crucial efficacy stage. The result, researchers said, exposes a gap between popular claims of healing powers and the reality of scientific evidence.

Oliver Chukwujekwu Ezechi, a director of research at the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR), explained that while safety is an important starting point, it is only one part of the process in drug development.

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“The fact that a herbal product is safe does not mean it works. Safety means it will not immediately harm you, but it says nothing about whether it treats the illness it claims to cure,” Ezechi said.

Ezechi expressed concern over the inconsistent nature of many of the products tested, noting that some batches contained traces of conventional drugs such as antimalarials or even HIV medications. “Mixing unrelated compounds into herbal concoctions is unscientific. One batch cannot contain something different from another batch. That is not how medicine works,” he added.

According to him, genuine drug development is a long and painstaking process that involves pre-clinical studies on animals, followed by clinical trials on humans, which progress through three phases before approval. Even under emergency conditions such as the COVID-19 pandemic, he said, the process still takes years. Clinical trials, he stressed, are often described as the “graveyard of drugs” because most candidate medicines fail at some stage of testing.

Despite these realities, he lamented, many Nigerians continue to embrace unproven miracle cures announced through press briefings or social media.

Ezechi recalled past controversies, including false claims of cures for HIV, which gained popularity but ultimately put lives at risk. “If you take something that is not efficacious, your illness remains untreated. That is dangerous. Safe does not mean effective,” he warned.

While NIMR’s research has shown that malaria prevalence has declined significantly in urban areas due to interventions, rural communities remain heavily affected. Relying on herbal remedies that do not work, he cautioned, can worsen the situation.

He also clarified the role of NIMR and its collaboration with the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC). While NIMR focuses on establishing the safety of herbal preparations, NAFDAC’s registration indicates only that a product is safe to consume, not that it is effective for treatment. Producers, he said, need to go further by identifying the active ingredients in their formulations and working with researchers to conduct proper studies.

Beyond efficacy, he raised concerns about sustainability. A single plant may contain multiple compounds, and indiscriminate harvesting of roots and leaves to produce remedies on a mass scale could devastate the environment. Modern medicine, he noted, identifies active compounds and reproduces them using biotechnology, a more sustainable and consistent approach.

Despite the sobering results, NIMR encouraged herbal producers not to abandon their work but to remain patient and scientific. “We are not saying people should stop researching herbal medicine. But the products must go through the right process. They must prove both safety and efficacy,” Ezechi averred.

He therefore advised Nigerians to understand that just because something is safe does not mean it is effective. “Taking remedies that do not work only allows diseases like malaria or HIV to persist, sometimes with fatal consequences. We must separate tradition from science,” he stated.

Oluwagbemiga Olanrewaju Aina, deputy director of research in the biochemistry and nutrition department at the NIMR, while giving findings from a six-year evaluation of 46 herbal medicinal products and plants widely sold in the country, averred that all the remedies tested were found to be safe when administered to animals, but none demonstrated proven efficacy against the illnesses they claim to treat.

Presenting the findings, Aina stressed that while safety is important, it does not automatically translate to effectiveness.

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He urged producers of herbal remedies already in the market to go beyond mere safety and invest in research to identify the active ingredients in their formulations. Such work, he said, is critical to harnessing the potential of traditional medicine in treating specific conditions.

Aina also advised herbalists and consumers alike to exercise caution, encouraging practitioners to subject their preparations to proper scientific testing, while warning the public to be mindful of what they consume, particularly when efficacy is unproven.

“Safe does not mean effective,” he emphasized, calling for stronger collaboration between herbal producers and researchers to protect patients and advance reliable alternatives in healthcare.