Rx Note

Introduction I stumbled upon this product on a pharmacy shelf and wondered what it was for. Disclaimer: I am not reviewing this product, but rather discussing herbs and supplements in general. Although I have lived in Malaysia for over 20 years, the only Malay herbs that I heard of is Tongkat Ali. As a product of Western medical training, I have limited knowledge of herbs. My university education and personal readings have revealed that many herbs lack substantial evidence or large-scale clinical trials to support their use for specific indications. The situation is further complicated by the wide range of doses and preparations used in clinical studies. A quick question: Do you know the common dosage of St. John's Wort or its typical uses? In university, we often highlighted St. John's Wort when discussing potential drug-herb interactions , but rarely delved into the supporting evidence. However, at community pharmacies , customers frequently ask about supplements, such as: A...

Introduction Taxonomy is a field in biology which involves the classification, identification and naming of organisms in an organised manner. To illustrate, all organisms in the world can be categorised into 6 kingdoms, based on types of cells, number of cells and types of nutrition. Linnaeus Hierarchy System The Linnaeus hierarchy system classifies organisms according to hierarchy, starting from species to domain. Binomial Nomenclature System The formal system of naming organisms practised today is called the Linnaeus binomial system Each scientific name consists of 2 words: the first word is the name of genus, the second word is the name of the species. The first letter of the genus is capitalised while the name of the species is not. All scientific names must be printed in italics . If handwritten, the two names must be underlined separately. Some Examples When you are reading product label of herbal supplements , you may come across their Latin botanical name. Below are some exam...