The law concerning the safety and good quality of herbal drugs is one of the important achievements of IOMS.

If the trend in the world today is to use drugs prepared and manufactured from medicinal plants and herbs to avoid the side effects of chemical-drug preparations, the accomplishments of Muslims in this field assert their pioneering role.

In collaboration with the WHO Regional Office of Eastern Mediterranean, the IOMS has determined the requirements for registering, monitoring and marketing herbal drugs.  These requirements guarantee unified conditions and specifications for preparing and manufacturing these drugs.  These procedures are meant to make sure that good quality drugs will be available.  They are also meant to encourage and develop the herbal drug industry.

Therefore, the herbal drug law has been laid down for guaranteeing the sfety and quality of these drugs and submitting their marketing to official control by the concerned authority.

The term "herbal drug" mentioned in the text of the law is defined as any preparation whose effective component is derived from a herbal origin and is finally packed by the manufacturer and then marketed to be used for curing and/or preventive purposes.

The law prohibits all forms of dealing in these herbal drugs before they are registered at the concerned authorities.  The prohibition covers the whole process of marketing, starting with manufacturing or importing the drug and ending with selling by retail to the consumer, provided that the drug is packed and labelled as a herbal drug.

The law stipulates the required conditions for registering the herbal drug and determines the specifications for its manufacturing explaining the process followed for controlling the elements and preparations as well as the herbal derivation that go into making it.  The law also contains regulations for controlling the quality and specifications of the raw materials used, the reinforcing herbal ingredients, the effective pharmaceutical properties, etc. in a bid to guarantee the safety and quality of the herbal drugs available for public consumption.