Botanical Supplements, Teas Given to Infants a Concern

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Many infants younger than 1 year receive herbal supplements and teas,

according to results from the Infant Feeding Practices Study

II<http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/reprint/peds.2010-2294v1>reported

online May 2 and to be published in the June print issue of

*Pediatrics*.

" Use of dietary botanical supplements (DBS) and herbal teas by infants is a

concern for several reasons, " write Yuanting Zhang, PhD, from the Office of

Regulations, Policy and Social Sciences, Center for Food Safety and Applied

Nutrition, Food and Drug Administration in College Park, land, and

colleagues. " Because the purity and potency of such supplements and teas are

not regulated in the same way as pharmaceuticals, their administration

concomitantly with medicines may cause drug interactions, and they may

contain heavy metals or other contaminants. Infants may be more susceptible

to adverse effects because of differences in physiology, metabolism, and

dose per body weight. "

The goals of the study were to evaluate the use of dietary botanical

supplements and teas among infants, the characteristics of mothers who give

these products to their infants, the specific products used, reasons for

use, and sources of information.

Between 2005 and 2007, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conducted a longitudinal survey

of women studied from late pregnancy through their infant's first year of

life. Study participants were 2653 healthy mothers with healthy term or

near-term singleton infants drawn from a nationally distributed consumer

opinion panel.

In the first year of life, 9% of infants, including infants as young as 1

month, received dietary botanical supplements or teas. Many of these were

marketed and sold specifically for infants, but they had not been evaluated

by the FDA to treat, cure, or prevent any disease. A multivariate model

showed that factors significantly associated with giving infants dietary

botanical supplements or teas were maternal herbal use (*P* < .0001), longer

breast-feeding (*P* < .0001), and Hispanic ethnicity (*P* = .016).

Information sources commonly mentioned by the mothers were friends or

family, health professionals, and the media. Mothers used dietary botanical

supplements or teas to help their infants with fussiness, digestion, colic,

and relaxation.

Limitations of this study include use of a sampling frame that was not

nationally representative, with limited generalizability because of

overrepresentation of non-Hispanic white, older mothers of higher

socioeconomic status. In addition, information is lacking on doses or the

amount of the supplement or tea given to the infant.

" A substantial proportion of infants in this sample was given a wide variety

of supplements and teas, " the study authors write. " Because some supplements

given to infants may pose health risks, health care providers need to

recognize that infants under their care may be receiving supplements or

teas. "

*The study authors have disclosed no relevant financial relationships.*

*Pediatrics*. Published online May 2, 2011. Full

text<http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/reprint/peds.2010-2294v1>

Found @ www.medscape.com

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