Untested natural medicines are big threats to health in China and Africa

In mainland China and Africa, when natural medicines apply for licenses, they do not need to pass the same rigorous toxicity and efficacy tests as those of synthetic medicines. The lack of regulation of untested natural medicines by drug administration departments is a big threat to global health. S...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of global health reports Vol. 4
Main Author Zhang, Minghui
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Inishmore Laser Scientific Publishing Ltd 21.07.2020
Online AccessGet full text
ISSN2399-1623
2399-1623
DOI10.29392/001c.13651

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Summary:In mainland China and Africa, when natural medicines apply for licenses, they do not need to pass the same rigorous toxicity and efficacy tests as those of synthetic medicines. The lack of regulation of untested natural medicines by drug administration departments is a big threat to global health. Studies have shown natural medicines severely threaten the health of human beings although they seem harmless. Over 100 million of the Chinese are suffering from diseases caused by natural medicines. These medicines include aristolochic acid (AA)-containing plants (a worldwide problem) and natural medicine injections (only in mainland China). Clear evidence shows the widespread toxicity of AA-containing plants and natural medicine rejections while not a single rigorous test suggests the efficacy of them. One recent example is that plant soups were widely used to treat patients in mainland China during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak. An ingredient of these plant soups is Xixin, which contains AA.
ISSN:2399-1623
2399-1623
DOI:10.29392/001c.13651