Adulteration with synthetic drugs is rampant, says Vishwakarma.
Ram A Vishwakarma, director, Indian Institute Of Integrative Medicine-Jammu, tells Prerna Katiyar that India has to cover a lot of regulatory ground. Edited excerpts:
There is a lot of ambiguity around the use of quantity sufficient (QS) or base material. Can you explain what is base material or QS?
Most people buy herbal products based on a hunch or hearsay. Cosmetics are vanity products. Still, all companies have to get a guarantee of safety. The problem is that registration of cosmetics is not based on the efficacy of a product. For e.g., a company selling an anti-ageing product could be marketing it in the form of cosmetics or medicines or nutraceuticals. For nutraceuticals, we have the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India as the regulator. For drugs, we have a separate regulator.
The fundamental problem is that India doesn’t have one regulatory pathway. In other countries, the pathway for approval of drugs, cosmetics and nutraceuticals is the same. Of course, the level of requirement of the regulator may vary, with the most stringent criteria being for drugs. India has created the Drug Controller of India, which is the gatekeeper of quality of medicines, and then you have the AYUSH (ministry). India is the only country with two windows of approval.
Who governs herbal cosmetics?
On paper, these are regulated by the Indian Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, which comes under the Drug Controller General of India. But the Act is hardly implemented. In the US, if a company claims to have an herbal product that can make the skin glow, it has to show scientific data to back its claims. Here, neither the research on herbal cosmetics is published or patented nor is it reviewed by peers.
Herbal products have to be manufactured in an accredited facility approved by a regulator. In reality, many herbal companies have outsourced manufacturing. As the products are not medicines, the government is not involved. I am not saying all Indian brands are bad. But scrutiny is non-existent in India. People are mixing products with emotions, which stops the need for any scientific requirement or argument. The level of R&D required is missing. Merely using turmeric and tulsi is not enough. But who cares, as far as you are making money. By using unsubstantiated products, we are harming ourselves.
What should to be done?
We need scientific proof of what companies claim. Disclosure has to be 100%. A lot of companies are fortifying products with other substances. Adulteration with synthetic drugs is rampant. One can get a food product tested by the FSSAI. There is no such facility for cosmetics. There is no inspection of manufacturing facilities and accreditation. The good thing about Indians is that our skin is brown. This is god’s gift. We don’t get skin cancer easily. How should a customer ensure what he is buying is truly herbal? Do more research on the company before you buy. Look at its R&D. Choose only reputed players and brands.
Preservatives are used in herbal products for the protection of the customers: Shahnaz Husain
Always buy products of a reputed company, advises Shahnaz Husain.
How does a product qualify as botanical, herbal or ayurvedic?
Botanical or herbal are overlapping terms that refer to plant products or plant-based extracts and oils. For the uninitiated, a product is considered ‘natural’ when its ingredients are sourced from nature and not created synthetically.
What was the rationale for entering the herbal market four decades ago when the trend was yet to catch up among Indians?
When I returned to India and opened my first herbal clinic in 1971, devising treatments and formulating my own herbal products, herbal beauty care did not exist. There were no herbal products and no salon treatments, based on herbal remedies. But faith in ayurveda always existed. That is why our products caught on. We started extending salons through a franchise system. Our first herbal salon opened in Calcutta in 1979 and within a year, we had opened 80 salons in India. I entered the international market in 1982.
Would you describe Shahnaz Husain as a pure herbal player?
Ours is a herbal beauty company, based on ayurveda.
What sets brand Shahnaz Husain apart from other players in the herbal segment?
It is commitment to research and development, and the launch of highly innovative formulations. What also sets the brand apart is that it is not a faceless corporate or brand name. Everyone knows that there is a real person behind the brand who has been trained in cosmetology and cosmetic therapy. In fact, our products have grown out of clinical usage, based on massive client feedback. The brand has become known not only for general beauty care, but also for our clinical treatments and therapeutic products for specific skin and hair problems.
How much of herbal or botanical components go into the making of a Shahnaz Husain product?
The percentage of active ingredients in our ayurvedic formulations vary. It could be between 10 and 100% depending on the active ingredient being used, its potency, nature and application of the product.
Are there products made at Shahnaz Husain that are 100% herbal?
There are products, mainly powdered and oil formulations, where 100% of the ingredients are from botanical sources. However, it is mandatory to use preservatives, although the quantities are negligible. This ensures shelf life and is for the protection of the customer.
There is lot of opacity on the QS or base material.
QS is a word that is mainly used in herbal or pharma products, denoting quantity sufficient mainly of the base materials. Base materials are
excipients used in formulations and these are pharmacologically inactive or inert materials but play an important role in the formulation of a product. These provide bulk to the formulation, provide stability, absorb the medicaments and prevent decomposition. Base materials provide volume or add mass to active ingredients, thereby facilitating precise metering.
Who governs herbal or botanical products in India?
Herbal products are governed by the Drugs and Cosmetics Act and manufacturing licences are issued by the Directorate of ayurvedic and Unani Services of state governments.
What is the standard procedure to get products certified as herbal or botanical?
Extensive research goes into the formulation of a herbal product. It takes several months or years before the product is ready for marketing. Clinical trials are done before the products details are sent to the licensing authorities for approval. It goes to a committee formed by the AYUSH Ministry to study all aspects of a new product for the grant of a manufacturing licence.
How should a customer ensure that what he is buying is herbal?
Always buy products of a reputed company, as it goes through quality control and testing. What is the outlook for the herbal segment? With total wellness and back-to-nature trends sweeping the world, the herbal, botanical or ayurvedic segment is expected to emerge as the leading one. Herbal beauty business has been driving the beauty business in India.
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