The assessment of the safety and efficacy of Traditional Chinese Herbal Medicines (CHMs) is an important issue for consumers, practitioners and health care professionals. The research protocols, standards and methods for the evaluation of the safety and efficacy of Traditional Chinese Medicines (TCM), including CHMs, are however more complex than those for conventional medicines. Indeed, TCM present a unique set of pharmaceutical theories that include particular methods for processing, combining and decocting CHMs, which probably contribute to reduce their eventual toxicities and enhance their efficacies. The evaluation of CHMs safety is complicated by multiple factors, such as the geographical origin of plant material, different processing techniques, dosage, route of administration and compatibility with other …more