To help consumers navigate information about popular herbs and herbal supplements, the National Institutes of Health’s National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health has launched HerbList™—an app for research-based information about the safety and effectiveness of herbal products. Developed by NCCIH and launched through the National Library of Medicine’s app pages, HerbList is available on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.

HerbList helps consumers, patients, health-care providers, and other users to quickly access information about the science of popular herbs and herbal supplements, including kava, acai, ginkgo, turmeric, and more than 50 others marketed for health purposes.

Users can access information on potential safety problems, side effects, and herb-drug interactions with additional links to resources for more information. They can also mark favorite herbs for quick recall and offline accessibility.

HerbList provides only scientific, research-driven information to provide consumers and health-care practitioners with unbiased information to make informed decisions about supplement use.

"Providing an app for users is part of NCCIH's effort to inform consumers and health-care providers within the complementary and integrative health space," said David Shurtleff, PhD, acting director of NCCIH. "People are considering herbs and herbal supplements for various reasons, and it is important that they are aware of what the research says about safety and effectiveness."

The app was built using NCCIH's Herbs at a Glance webpage, a series of brief fact sheets that provide basic information about specific herbs or botanicals—common names, what the science says, potential side effects and cautions, and resources for more information.

HerbList is available to download for your iPhone or iPad from the Apple App Store or to your Android device via Google Play.