Background: Herbal or complementary medicines are frequently used for the treatment of patients with functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGID). Regulatory requirements for herbal therapies are inconsistent and, in many jurisdictions, herbal therapies are either self-, minimally-or unregulated. Aim: To provide guidance for the appropriate and safe use of herbal medicines in patients with FGID patients with special consideration of the regulatory frameworks. Methods: A PubMed search of the literature was performed; relevant articles were included. Results: Similar to chemically defined therapies herbal medicines can cause adverse events. Thus, a risk-benefit appraisal should be undertaken for these therapies. While there is no disease specific mortality in FGID public and policy makers. However, the frequently chronic or relapsing nature of FGIDs cause disabilities in predominately young people and are a considerable burden to society even though life expectancy is not affected.

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