Combinations of Natural Products: Opportunities and Dangers

The use of medicinal food, food supplements and nutraceuticals is steadily increasing worldwide. These products are derived from a variety of sources of ethnic traditions and new research findings. They are being utilised in a diverse range of preventive and therapeutic situations. Because of this increased interest there is greater use of multiple natural products simultaneously. The use of combinations needs to be treated with circumspection. Mixing may have no unexpected consequences or it may have rather unanticipated beneficial outcomes. Just as likely are deleterious effects from combining the intake of natural products. Recent research has been quite useful in the characterisation of the consequences of some of these combinations and examples will be presented.