Safety of Complementary Medicines

Dear Colleagues,

Complementary medicines (CM) include a diverse range of therapies and products, such as acupuncture, naturopathy, vitamin and mineral supplements, mind–body practices, etc. These therapies have long been used in many countries, and, in recent times, are increasingly used in communities for preventing or managing various diseases and conditions. Some CM therapies are based on traditional practice systems, such as traditional Chinese medicine and Ayurvedic medicine, others are related to the conventional medical practice as supportive therapies. The health benefit of CM is mainly supported by traditional evidence with limited scientific evidence available. On the other hand, there are frequent concerns on their quality and safety which are often associated with product quality, improper practice, contaminants and toxicities of certain ingredients in CM products, such as pesticide residues, heavy metal and microbial contaminants in herbal medicines. It is important to understand the safety aspects of CM in order to minimise the potential risks involved and improve the quality practice/use of CM therapies and products.

This Special Issue invites original contributions, including review articles and practice guidelines, on all aspects of complementary medicines, including basic and clinical research on CM practice and related products, such as surveys, herbal toxicity, drug–herb interactions, contaminants and detections, as well as relevant quality control standards.

Prof. Dr. Chun Guang Li
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Medicines is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• complementary medicines
• traditional Chinese medicine
• Ayurvedic medicine
• vitamin and mineral supplements
• acupuncture
• herbal toxicity
• herbal-drug interaction
• contaminant & adulation
• adverse reactions