Herbal medicine is a widely used modality of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). Along with the rapid growth of consumption, the safety of herbal medicines has become a highlighted topic. There are two types of prejudice about herbal medicines: nonadverse effect treatment by protagonist and fatal poison by opposition. Due to the deficiency of evidence, the public often become panic and anxious after exaggerated reports. Thus, to recognize and control the adverse effect of herbal medicines is more important and urgent than effective evaluation at present.

We invite investigators to contribute original research articles and review articles that will promote the understanding of the safety of herbal medicine. We are particularly interested in articles focusing on the adverse events and related factors of herbal medicines. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

• Systematic review of adverse events related to certain herbs or prescriptions
• Prospective clinical observation/controlled studies or surveillance research
• Factors associated with adverse events of herbal medicine
• Toxic components of herbal medicine and their dose-effect relationships
• The pharmacokinetics and metabolism of the toxicity chemical ingredients
• Methods for the identification and validation of plant raw materials or extracts
• Researches on herbal-drug interactive
• Methods to control or decrease adverse events of herbal medicine

Before submission authors should carefully read the journal's Author Guidelines, which are located at http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/guidelines/. Prospective authors should submit an electronic copy of their complete manuscript through the journal’s Manuscript Tracking System at http://mts.hindawi.com/submit/journals/ecam/prejud/ according to the following timetable: