Safety concerns of herbal products and traditional Chinese herbal medicines: dehydropyrrolizidine alkaloids and aristolochic acid

• Published in: Journal of applied toxicology Vol. 35; no. 12; pp. 1433 - 1437
• Main Authors: Stegelmeier, Bryan L., Brown, Ammon W., Welch, Kevin D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.12.2015; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Acids; Alkaloids; aristolochic acid; Aristolochic Acids - analysis; Aristolochic Acids - toxicity; Consumer Product Safety - legislation & jurisprudence; Contamination; dehydropyrrolizidine alkaloids; Dietary supplements; Drug Contamination - legislation & jurisprudence; Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions - etiology; Drugs, Chinese Herbal - adverse effects; Drugs, Chinese Herbal - chemistry; Drugs, Chinese Herbal - standards; Education; Folk medicine; Government Regulation; herb; Herbal medicine; herbal medicines; herbal products; Humans; Plants (organisms); Product safety; pyrrolizidine alkaloids; Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids - analysis; Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids - toxicity; Risk; Toxicity; Toxicology; traditional Chinese medicines; USA; pyrrolizidine alkaloids; herbal medicines; herbal products; traditional Chinese medicines; dehydropyrrolizidine alkaloids; herb; aristolochic acid
• ISSN: 0260-437X; 1099-1263
• DOI: 10.1002/jat.3192

In many countries, including the United States, herbal supplements, tisanes and vegetable products, including traditional Chinese medicines, are largely unregulated and their content is not registered, monitored or verified. Consequently, potent plant toxins including dehydropyrrolizidine alkaloids and other potential carcinogens can contaminate these products. As herbal and food supplement producers are left to their own means to determine the safety and purity of their products prior to marketing, disturbingly often good marketing practices currently in place are ignored and content is largely undocumented. Historical examples of poisoning and health issues relating to plant material containing dehydopyrrolizidine alkaloids and aristolochic acids were used as examples to demonstrate the risk and potential toxicity of herbal products, food supplements, or traditional medicines. More work is needed to educate consumers of the potential risk and require the industry to be more responsible to verify the content and insure the safety of their products. Published 2015. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA. In many countries, herbal supplements, tisanes and vegetable products, including traditional Chinese medicines, are unregulated and their content is not registered, monitored or verified. Consequently, plant toxins including dehydropyrrolizidine alkaloids can contaminate these products. Dehydopyrrolizidine alkaloids and aristolochic acids are examples that demonstrate the risk and potential toxicity of contaminated, mislabeled or misused products. Work is, therefore, needed to educate consumers of the potential risk and to require the industry to be more responsible to verify content and insure product safety.