The C.A.M. Report
Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Fair, Balanced, and to the Point
  • About this web log

    This blog ran from 2006 to 2016 and was intended as an objective and dispassionate source of information on the latest CAM research. Since my background is in pharmacy and allopathic medicine, I view all CAM as advancing through the development pipeline to eventually become integrated into mainstream medical practice. Some will succeed while others fail. But all are treated fairly here.

  • About the author

    John Russo, Jr., PharmD, is president of The MedCom Resource, Inc. Previously, he was senior vice president of medical communications at www.Vicus.com, a complementary and alternative medicine website.

  • Common sense considerations

    The material on this weblog is for informational purposes. It is not medical advice or counsel. Be smart, consult your health professional before using CAM.

  • Recent Posts

  • Recent Comments

    Is Duhuo Jisheng Tang safe?

    Duhuo Jisheng Tang “tones” the liver and kidney. It also tones Qi and blood.

    I confess, I don’t know what that means, but researchers from Taipei, Taiwan studied its safety.

    First, the details.

    • In 71 patients with knee osteoarthritis, adverse events, complete blood counts, and liver and kidney function tests were measured.
    • Adverse events were rated for severity and whether they were caused by Duhuo Jisheng Tang.

    And, the results.

    • There where 287 adverse events.
    • Duhuo Jisheng Tang did not contain detectable aristolochic acid (AA) based on thin-layer chromatography analysis and gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS).
      • The FDA has warned to avoid herbs containing the chemical aristolochic acid.
    • There were no significant changes in liver or kidney functions.

    The bottom line?

    There was no evidence of serious toxicity. However, confirmation of safety requires longer studies in much larger groups of patients.

    Duhuo Jisheng Tang is a mixture of a lot of stuff. More about its use is summarized here.

    2/12/10 19:46 JR

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