Citation

Chan TY, Critchley JA. Hum. Exp. Toxicol. 1996; 15(1): 5-12.

Affiliation

Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1996, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

8845209

Abstract

The great majority of Chinese herbal preparations are safe, and in the past, some useful Western drugs have been derived from these herbs. Nearly all serious poisonings are due to the few preparations containing aconitine, podophyllin or anticholinergics or else proprietary preparations containing dangerous Western drugs or heavy metals. Both medical professionals and the general public should be alerted to the potential toxicity of herbal remedies. There should be frequent monitoring of Chinese herbal medicines or their derivatives, such as some Chinese proprietary medicines, for undeclared Western drugs and heavy metals. Mothers should be discouraged from treating their children with herbal or proprietary medicines. There should be continuing efforts to collect safety information on these widely used products.

Language: en