Look. The "natural medicines" are made up of chemicals. Yes. There may be a whole lot of them mixed up together, but they're chemicals. C6H12O6 -- that's fructose, which is also called levulose. Glucose is the same -- the difference is in the ring structures.

On March 24, 2003, the Archives of Internal Medicine reported:

Methods One of each single-herb Echinacea preparations that were available in August 2000 was obtained from several stores in the Denver, Colo, area. Thin-layer chromatography (TLC) was used to determine species and measure quantity. From this information, accuracy of species labeling and comparison of constituent to labeled content were assessed. The samples were stratified by whether they were labeled as standardized, and the standardized and nonstandardized samples were compared by ratio of constituent to labeled content.

Results Of the samples, 6 (10%) of 59 preparations contained no measurable Echinacea. The assayed species content was consistent with labeled content in 31 (52%) of the samples. Of the 21 standardized preparations, 9 (43%) met the quality standard described on the label. Labeled milligrams were weakly associated with measured constituent (r = 0.35; P = .02).

Conclusions Echinacea from retail stores often does not contain the labeled species. A claim of "standardization" does not mean the preparation is accurately labeled, nor does it indicate less variability in concentration of constituents of the herb.

If you want to take herbal supplements, why not grow and prepare your own? Then you're sure of the quality and can work without the FDA being involved.