Herbs Available Online May Pose Dangers

[Guest guest]

Herbs Available Online May Pose Dangers

Tuesday, June 6, 2000

By n Fox News

http://www.foxnews.com/health/060600/herbhazard.sml

NEW YORK - Want to buy an herbal supplement that ruins your liver? How about

an all-natural carcinogenic skin cream? With a click of a mouse, you can

pick your herbal poison.

It may sound crazy, but at least seven herbal remedies now on the market

have caused serious adverse reactions in numerous patients, according to

herb expert Varro Tyler, professor emeritus of pharmacognosy at Purdue

University.

These include borage, chaparral, colt's foot, comfrey, ephedrine, sassafras

and yohimbe.

When FOXNews.com searched the popular herbal medicine Web site

mothernature.com, we found all these herbs were widely available for

purchase in some form. A jaunt through drugstore.com and VitaminChannel.com

also turned up order forms for these potentially toxic products.

Chapped Over Chaparral

VitaminChannel.com touts the health benefits of chaparral, an extract from

the leaves of the creosote bush Larrea tridentata.

" Animal studies in the 1970s seemed to prove that chaparral had strong

ANTI-CANCER qualities, " reads a VitaminChannel.com article. The herb has

strong anti-microbial qualities that has [sic] proven effective against

various forms of SKIN DISORDERS. "

But chaparral has a scary side: It may be highly toxic to the liver. The

Food and Drug Administration has documented 13 cases of liver damage from

ingestion of chaparral, two of them requiring liver transplants.

" The use of chaparral may be associated with acute to chronic irreversible

liver damage, " the FDA said in a report published in the April 1997 issue of

the Archives of Internal Medicine.

Herb manufacturers insist these reports are inconclusive.

" Historically, chaparral has been used medicinally without any adverse

reaction, " said Bunting, chief herbalist for the herbal products

manufacturer Herb Pharm. " Then again, " Bunting added. " everything is toxic

in a high enough dosage. "

The FDA reports do not indicate the amount of chaparral people were taking.

But to the question of " How much is a dangerous amount? " we can only guess:

Since there's no official dosing on herbal remedies, there's really no such

thing as an overdose.

For example, some people take a drop of echinacea; others feel comfortable

with a teaspoon.

No Comfort in Comfrey

Comfrey, a plant Tyler called " the most dangerous herb on the market, " comes

in the form of skin cream, lip balm and tea. It's available on a variety of

sites, from drugstore.com to mothernature.com.

This plant, Symphytum officinale, is imbibed in an extract and used as a

healing salve for minor wounds. But it's a bad idea to let comfrey get under

your skin, Tyler warned: It contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids - substances

that have been linked to liver and lung cancer.

In a 1996 study, published in the journal Natural Toxins, British food

scientists found these toxic alkaloids in herbal comfrey preparations but

also discovered the leaves were less toxic than the root.

If you must use a comfrey extract, Tyler recommends, use one with the

leaves, and apply it to intact skin only.

A handful of other herbal products on the U.S. market may also contain these

liver-toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids, Tyler said: Colt's foot, made from the

leaves and flower of the tussilago farfara plant and taken for coughs or

wheezing; and borage, made from the leaves and flower of the Borago

officinalis plant and used for menstrual cramps, stress, alcohol withdrawal

and regulating body temperature.

Herb Pharm, which manufactures Comfrey and Colt's foot products, says the

liver toxicity claim is overblown. But the pyrrolizidine alkaloids are

almost totally removed from the extracts made by this company, Bunting

added.

Ephedra Epidemic?

Ephedrine, the most widely available supplement on the toxic list, has the

worst safety record of all supplements on the market.

This product, sold under names like ephedra, ma huang, Chinese ephedra and

epitonin, is often used in teas, weight-loss formulas and herbal asthma

remedies.

As of March 2000, 40 reports of adverse effects had been submitted to the

FDA. The FDA has determined that 22 of these cases could definitively be

attributed to ephedrine use; 38 contained data " supportive " of a link

between ephedrine and the problem.

The reported problems included symptoms such as racing heart rate,

nervousness, dizziness and changes in blood pressure all the way to the more

extreme chest pain, heart attacks, hepatitis, stroke, seizures, psychosis

and death.

But these reactions almost always result when people take products

containing massive doses of ephedrine , Bunting insisted. " People are taking

25 milligrams per dose, but with a product like ours, a single extract has

1.6 to 2.2 milligrams of ephedrine. "

Three years ago, the FDA proposed warning labels on ephedrine-containing

supplements and restrictions on the amount of ephedrine a manufacturer could

add to a supplement. But this March, after the agency was flooded with

negative reports and the General Accounting Office suggested there was not

enough evidence for the FDA restriction, the agency announced it was

dropping the proposed restriction.

The FDA proposed that a supplement would be restricted if it contains 8

milligrams or more of ephedrine alkaloids per serving within a six-hour

period, or a total daily intake of 24 mg or more of the substance.

Don't Sip the Sassafras

Restrictions, however, may not do the trick. The FDA banned sassafras oil in

1960 and banned the sale of sassafras bark in 1976, experts say. Studies in

lab rats have found sassafras is carcinogenic " But it is still sold, "

according to Tyler, who adds there is no reason to drink it.

Sassafras tea, made from the root bark of the Sassafras albidum plant, is

commonly used as a spring tonic.

Jeff Nordhaus, manufacturer of Pappy's sassafras tea, says it is safe to

drink his brand because the company removes saffrol, the carcinogenic

element. " In the mid 70s, the FDA shut us down because of " the saffrol, he

said. " We don't agree with the FDA ruling but you have to abide by that. "

Yohimbe - Yikes!

Yohimbe, made from the bark of the yohimbe tree, was sold as a natural

impotence cure for years before Viagra ever made it onto the market.

Yohimbine extracts were also available in prescription form.

It has been associated with increased blood pressure, anxiety and insomnia

" and it can cause psychosis, " Tyler said. The FDA has received 13 reports of

adverse effects associated with yohimbe, according to the FDA's MedWatch

database.

But luckily, Tyler said, most available yohimbe supplements only contain

trace amounts of yohimbine.

It is still unclear when stricter regulations on these herbs will be

enforced.

Under current law, the FDA has to clearly show that a dietary supplement is

unsafe before moving to restrict its use. This process, set out by the 1994

Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act, turns upside down the ordinary

process governing prescription drugs, where a drugmaker must show that a

product is safe before it goes on the market.

" FDA's requirement for pre-market review of dietary supplements is less than

that over other products it regulates, such as drugs and many additives used

in conventional foods, " states an FDA guide to dietary supplements.

" This means that consumers and manufacturers have responsibility for

checking the safety of dietary supplements. "

-------------------

[Guest guest]

Herbs Available Online May Pose Dangers

Tuesday, June 6, 2000

By n Fox News

http://www.foxnews.com/health/060600/herbhazard.sml

NEW YORK - Want to buy an herbal supplement that ruins your liver? How about

an all-natural carcinogenic skin cream? With a click of a mouse, you can

pick your herbal poison.

It may sound crazy, but at least seven herbal remedies now on the market

have caused serious adverse reactions in numerous patients, according to

herb expert Varro Tyler, professor emeritus of pharmacognosy at Purdue

University.

These include borage, chaparral, colt's foot, comfrey, ephedrine, sassafras

and yohimbe.

When FOXNews.com searched the popular herbal medicine Web site

mothernature.com, we found all these herbs were widely available for

purchase in some form. A jaunt through drugstore.com and VitaminChannel.com

also turned up order forms for these potentially toxic products.

Chapped Over Chaparral

VitaminChannel.com touts the health benefits of chaparral, an extract from

the leaves of the creosote bush Larrea tridentata.

" Animal studies in the 1970s seemed to prove that chaparral had strong

ANTI-CANCER qualities, " reads a VitaminChannel.com article. The herb has

strong anti-microbial qualities that has [sic] proven effective against

various forms of SKIN DISORDERS. "

But chaparral has a scary side: It may be highly toxic to the liver. The

Food and Drug Administration has documented 13 cases of liver damage from

ingestion of chaparral, two of them requiring liver transplants.

" The use of chaparral may be associated with acute to chronic irreversible

liver damage, " the FDA said in a report published in the April 1997 issue of

the Archives of Internal Medicine.

Herb manufacturers insist these reports are inconclusive.

" Historically, chaparral has been used medicinally without any adverse

reaction, " said Bunting, chief herbalist for the herbal products

manufacturer Herb Pharm. " Then again, " Bunting added. " everything is toxic

in a high enough dosage. "

The FDA reports do not indicate the amount of chaparral people were taking.

But to the question of " How much is a dangerous amount? " we can only guess:

Since there's no official dosing on herbal remedies, there's really no such

thing as an overdose.

For example, some people take a drop of echinacea; others feel comfortable

with a teaspoon.

No Comfort in Comfrey

Comfrey, a plant Tyler called " the most dangerous herb on the market, " comes

in the form of skin cream, lip balm and tea. It's available on a variety of

sites, from drugstore.com to mothernature.com.

This plant, Symphytum officinale, is imbibed in an extract and used as a

healing salve for minor wounds. But it's a bad idea to let comfrey get under

your skin, Tyler warned: It contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids - substances

that have been linked to liver and lung cancer.

In a 1996 study, published in the journal Natural Toxins, British food

scientists found these toxic alkaloids in herbal comfrey preparations but

also discovered the leaves were less toxic than the root.

If you must use a comfrey extract, Tyler recommends, use one with the

leaves, and apply it to intact skin only.

A handful of other herbal products on the U.S. market may also contain these

liver-toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids, Tyler said: Colt's foot, made from the

leaves and flower of the tussilago farfara plant and taken for coughs or

wheezing; and borage, made from the leaves and flower of the Borago

officinalis plant and used for menstrual cramps, stress, alcohol withdrawal

and regulating body temperature.

Herb Pharm, which manufactures Comfrey and Colt's foot products, says the

liver toxicity claim is overblown. But the pyrrolizidine alkaloids are

almost totally removed from the extracts made by this company, Bunting

added.

Ephedra Epidemic?

Ephedrine, the most widely available supplement on the toxic list, has the

worst safety record of all supplements on the market.

This product, sold under names like ephedra, ma huang, Chinese ephedra and

epitonin, is often used in teas, weight-loss formulas and herbal asthma

remedies.

As of March 2000, 40 reports of adverse effects had been submitted to the

FDA. The FDA has determined that 22 of these cases could definitively be

attributed to ephedrine use; 38 contained data " supportive " of a link

between ephedrine and the problem.

The reported problems included symptoms such as racing heart rate,

nervousness, dizziness and changes in blood pressure all the way to the more

extreme chest pain, heart attacks, hepatitis, stroke, seizures, psychosis

and death.

But these reactions almost always result when people take products

containing massive doses of ephedrine , Bunting insisted. " People are taking

25 milligrams per dose, but with a product like ours, a single extract has

1.6 to 2.2 milligrams of ephedrine. "

Three years ago, the FDA proposed warning labels on ephedrine-containing

supplements and restrictions on the amount of ephedrine a manufacturer could

add to a supplement. But this March, after the agency was flooded with

negative reports and the General Accounting Office suggested there was not

enough evidence for the FDA restriction, the agency announced it was

dropping the proposed restriction.

The FDA proposed that a supplement would be restricted if it contains 8

milligrams or more of ephedrine alkaloids per serving within a six-hour

period, or a total daily intake of 24 mg or more of the substance.

Don't Sip the Sassafras

Restrictions, however, may not do the trick. The FDA banned sassafras oil in

1960 and banned the sale of sassafras bark in 1976, experts say. Studies in

lab rats have found sassafras is carcinogenic " But it is still sold, "

according to Tyler, who adds there is no reason to drink it.

Sassafras tea, made from the root bark of the Sassafras albidum plant, is

commonly used as a spring tonic.

Jeff Nordhaus, manufacturer of Pappy's sassafras tea, says it is safe to

drink his brand because the company removes saffrol, the carcinogenic

element. " In the mid 70s, the FDA shut us down because of " the saffrol, he

said. " We don't agree with the FDA ruling but you have to abide by that. "

Yohimbe - Yikes!

Yohimbe, made from the bark of the yohimbe tree, was sold as a natural

impotence cure for years before Viagra ever made it onto the market.

Yohimbine extracts were also available in prescription form.

It has been associated with increased blood pressure, anxiety and insomnia

" and it can cause psychosis, " Tyler said. The FDA has received 13 reports of

adverse effects associated with yohimbe, according to the FDA's MedWatch

database.

But luckily, Tyler said, most available yohimbe supplements only contain

trace amounts of yohimbine.

It is still unclear when stricter regulations on these herbs will be

enforced.

Under current law, the FDA has to clearly show that a dietary supplement is

unsafe before moving to restrict its use. This process, set out by the 1994

Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act, turns upside down the ordinary

process governing prescription drugs, where a drugmaker must show that a

product is safe before it goes on the market.

" FDA's requirement for pre-market review of dietary supplements is less than

that over other products it regulates, such as drugs and many additives used

in conventional foods, " states an FDA guide to dietary supplements.

" This means that consumers and manufacturers have responsibility for

checking the safety of dietary supplements. "

-------------------