Herbal remedies are a 'global health hazard' research reveals

Herbal remedies are a "global health hazard" - and could be putting millions at risk of cancer and other diseases, suggests new research.

They have been used for thousands of years making many people believe they are safe but long-term use is no guarantee, according to the study.

Almost all carcinogens and many toxins require a long period of time before symptoms appear. This makes it very difficult for a layman or a professional to identify a particular compound as the cause of an illness when it was taken months or years earlier.

Prof Donald Marcus and Prof Arthur Grollman looked at the banned substance Aristolochic acid from Aristolochia plants and still found in some Chinese herbal remedies.

Sold illegally in the UK and US, it has been blamed for the high rate of urinary tract cancers in Taiwan and is also known to trigger kidney failure.

The researchers said in Taiwan, according to the national prescription database, between 1997 and 2003, eight million people were exposed to herbals containing Aristolochia.

Studies of patients with renal failure and cancer in Taiwan and China show that tens of millions of people in those countries are at risk of cancer and kidney failure.

In genetically susceptible people consuming Aristolochia can lead to mutations in a tumour suppressor - leading to kidney cancer.

Additional studies have shown this process could also lead to the development of cancer in the liver and the bladder.

Prof Marcus, of Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, and Prof Grollman, of Stony Brook University in New York, said other herbs and traditional medicines are responsible for severe adverse events in Africa and Asia - but epidemiological data is lacking.

They said Aristolochia has been used as a herbal remedy for over two thousand years.

But "the intrinsic toxicities were not recognized, owing, in large part, to the latency period between exposure and the onset of symptomatic disease, and, in part, to genetic determinants that confer susceptibility to only approximately five per cent of those exposed to this herb."

Prof Marcus said: "The history of Aristolachia indicates other herbs that have been used for a long time may also have toxic and/or carcinogenic compounds.

"It's prudent to assume many herbs may contain toxic or carcinogenic substances that can cause subsequent health problems for humans."

They disagree with the World Health Organisation's endorsement of the use of traditional herbal remedies on the premise traditional medicine is of proven quality, without mentioning the lack of scientific evidence supporting the efficacy of herbal remedies or their demonstrated hazards, as in the case of Aristolochia.

They emphasise their primary concern is "the prevention of toxicities associated with herbal medicine and not a categorical rejection of traditional healing practices."

Prof Marcus added: "Herbal remedies pose a global hazard.

"We encourage the global health community to take actions that will evaluate both long and short-term safety, as well as the efficacy of botanical products in widespread use."

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