Traditional prescriptions generally extract and concentrate one active chemical from a plant, which some advocates of alternative medicine see as a waste of valuable nutrients. Supporters of herbal medicine feel that medicine is most effective in its natural state, when it contains all of these chemicals, rather than after it has been processed. Many holistic veterinarians see nutraceuticals as extension of an animal s natural diet, adding to the nutrition animals should be getting from their environment but aren t getting from their processed pet food. They are generally safe, and usually cause few side effects. The case against For all their advantages, however, herbal and natural remedies are not the solution to every problem, and they are not endorsed by all veterinarians.
Some doctors feel that there isn t enough data available about their safety.
While prescription drugs must be extensively tested and approved by the Food and Drug Administration, the FDA does not regulate neutraceuticals. Opponents of herbal medicines argue that they haven t been taken by enough animals or for a long enough time for us to really know their long-term effects. They also argue that the proof of their effectiveness is more anecdotal than scientific. That is, the evidence of what nutraceuticals can do comes more from pet owners who have seen positive results in their animals than from scientists who have performed controlled tests, and most pet owners don t have the training necessary to note all side effects and recognize other possible causes for a positive response. Also, dosage hasn t been formalized for nutraceuticals.