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

    Contaminated and adulterated herbals

    Prof. Ernst and colleagues reviewed the evidence and they aren’t sanguine.

    First, the details.

    • 26 systematic reviews were included.

    And, the results.

    • Most common herbal medicine product contaminants:
      • Dust
      • Pollens
      • Insects
      • Rodents
      • Parasites
      • Microbes
      • Fungi
      • Mold
      • Toxins
      • Pesticides
      • Toxic heavy metals
      • Prescription drugs
    • The most severe adverse effects caused by these adulterations:
      • Agranulocytosis: severely lowered white blood cell count
      • Meningitis
      • Multi-organ failure
      • Perinatal stroke
      • Arsenic, lead, or mercury poisoning
      • Malignancies or carcinomas (cancer)
      • Hepatic (liver) encephalopathy
      • Hepato-renal syndrome: progressive kidney failure in a person with cirrhosis of the liver
      • Kidney toxicity
      • Rhabdomyolysis: breakdown of muscle leading to kidney failure
      • Metabolic acidosis: body produces too much acid for the kidney’s to remove
      • Kidney or liver failure
      • Cerebral edema
      • Coma
      • Intracerebral hemorrhage (stroke)
      • Death
    • Adulteration and contamination of herbal medicine products were most commonly noted for traditional Indian and Chinese remedies, respectively.

    The bottom line?

    The authors concluded, “Collectively these data suggest that there are reasons for concerns with regards to the quality of herbal medicine products.”

    Adulteration and contamination can cause serious adverse effects. More stringent quality control and enforcement are needed to minimize these health risks.

    How common is it? The American Association of Poison Control Centers provides some perspective here.

    8/1/12 10:32 JR

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