Herbal remedies used for treating eczema appear to be the cause of rapidly progressive nephritis in two British women. The herb is Aristolochia, also known as Mu Ton and Fanjii. The cases are described in the August 7th issue of The Lancet.

In 1993, the Lancet reported 48 cases of renal failure due to the use of herbs in a Belgian weight loss clinic. The New England Journal of Medicine also reported in 1995 that herbal balls were found to be contaminated with mercury and arsenic. The abstracts of these articles follows:

"BRUXELLES, BELGIUM. Belgian doctors are warning that the use of two Chinese herbs, Stephania tetrandra and Magnolia officinalis may cause kidney failure. The doctors report on 48 women experiencing renal failure. They traced all the patients to a Belgian medical clinic which provides slimming treatments using the two herbs. The doctors caution however, that exact identification of the disease causing components in the slimming regimen is very difficult and that the herbs may have been adulterated with other compounds.
Vanherweghem, Jean-Louis, et al. Rapidly progressive interstitial renal fibrosis in young women: association with slimming regimen including Chinese herbs. The Lancet, Vol. 341, February 13, 1993, pp. 387-91"


"ASHLAND, OREGON. Investigators at the U.S. National Fish and Wildlife Forensics Laboratory report that they have found potentially toxic levels of arsenic and mercury in Chinese herbal balls. Herbal balls are a mixture of medicinal herbs and honey and are dissolved in warm wine or water and then drunk as a tea. The investigators analyzed the balls as part of their effort to prevent the importation of products from endangered species. They found that the mercury content in the 32 balls tested varied between 7.8 and 621.3 mg per ball while the arsenic content varied between 0.1 and 36.6 mg. The most contaminated preparation was An Gong Niu Huang Wan from the Tung Jen Tang Pharamaceutical Factory in Nanjing. These balls contained between 3.21 and 36.6 mg of arsenic and between 80.7 and 621.3 mg of mercury, most likely in the form of sulfides. The investigators warn that chronic poisoning has been reported in people ingesting as little as 10 mg per day of arsenic sulfide and among people ingesting approximately 260 mg per day of mercury sulfide.
Espinoza, Edgard O., et al. Arsenic and mercury in traditional Chinese herbal balls. The New England Journal of Medicine, Vol. 333, No.12, September 21, 1995, pp. 803-04"



[This message has been edited by Gary Peterson (edited 08-07-1999).]