One of the benefits of the Commission E system is that it can provide an excellent model for regulatory reform, in the United States and possibly other countries, by providing a rational process for reviewing herbs and phytomedicines for their safety and efficacy. One of the unique features of Commission E is the interdisciplinary composition of its membership: approximately half of the members have theoretical expertise with herbs and phytomedicines and half of the members have practical experience with phytotherapy.

The reader is cautioned that a potential drawback may be a narrow interpretation that these monographs represent the only reasonable uses or indications of the herbs described in the monographs. There is ample room for new research to document and confirm heretofore scientifically unproven uses for herbs. In this sense, the Commission E monographs may constitute a good focal point for the development of rational regulations that accommodate the need to provide health practitioners and consumers with reliable, authoritative information on the therapeutic benefits and risks of herbal medicines. However, the Commission E model should not be viewed as an endpoint of herbal regulations; instead, it can be seen as a point of departure, a baseline upon which new data can be reviewed in the much larger field of herbs used in the U.S. today. Using an expert panel system similar to Commission E to review herbal literature could provide substantial benefits for healthcare and self-care in the U.S. in the near future.