This book is divided into two sections, one on herbal products and the other on nutritional supplements. They are not the same. A recent hysterical report claimed that herbal products could cause bovine spongiform encephalitis, also known as mad cow disease. The author failed to notice that herbs are from the vegetable kingdom and do not contain animal tissue. The author of this report was correct in noting that some supplements do contain animal glandular tissue such as liver, thymus, bone marrow, and thyroid and that the possibility of contamination by infectious proteins from these products may exist. If we are going to critique herbs and supplement products, let us do it with clear knowledge and understanding of the topic.

It is not uncommon for studies to be done on animals and the results extrapolated to humans, even though we may metabolize or digest various phytochemicals quite differently. Researchers have done studies on an herb without authenticating its identity, making results meaningless (Leung, 2000).

Sometimes information on isolated constituents is confused with the whole herb, or studies on intravenous forms of herbs are confused with oral administration. This type of misinterpretation and misunderstanding gives rise to incorrect information, which often continues to be repeated even decades after the original research has been disproven. Other studies have taken hamster oocytes and human sperm, put them into extracts of herbs (St. John’s wort, saw palmetto, ginkgo, and echinacea) and found that in high concentrations, some of the herbs denatured the sperm or inhibited the sperm from penetrating
the hamster oocyte (Ondrizek et al., 1999). This study was widely reported in medical journals and the popular press. One medical editor said that it was an important study showing a possible correlation between infertility and the use of herbs. The author of the study, Dr. Richard Ondrizek, was “flabbergasted” that his in vitro laboratory research is being reported as evidence that these herbs can cause infertility in humans. Dr. Ondrizek stated, “there is absolutely no parallel between this study and humans.”

Another recent error is due to lack of knowledge about phytochemistry. Several reports have surfaced suggesting that echinacea may be hepatotoxic. There is no evidence of this whatsoever. The error comes from the fact that echinacea contains very small amounts of pyrrolizidine alkaloids, some forms of which are known hepatotoxins. Unfortunately, the authors of this misinformation failed to differentiate between unsaturated (hepatotoxic) alkaloids and the nontoxic saturated alkaloids found in echinacea. This is an easy error for the uninformed to make, but one that creates unnecessary fear and confusion.

According to the information gathered by acclaimed researcher and scientist James Duke, PhD, the statistics on deaths caused by herbs compared with other causes are quite revealing:

If put into perspective, herbs (food herbs and medicine herbs) can cause problems, but they are substantially safer than over-the-counter
and prescription medications. Will we find that some herbs can have side effects? Definitely. Will we find that some herbs interact with medications? Absolutely. We only have to look at reports that St. John’s wort reduced the blood levels of cyclosporine in heart transplant patients to be aware of possible risks. At the same time, reports that followed stating that St. John’s wort can interfere with birth control and would cause an epidemic of unwanted pregnancies were unfounded. Not only is there no proof of this, but millions of German women who take contraceptive pills and St. John’s wort have failed, in the past 20 years, to provide any substantiation to the concerned researchers.

Recently, Merck & Co. removed the COX-2 selective nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medication rofecoxib (Vioxx) from the marketplace even though it had been through extensive testing and FDA drug approval. Any drug researcher will tell you that for most pharmaceuticals, the real test is when they are being used by the general population. This popular medication was deemed “safe” but caused increased risk of heart attack and strokes with an estimated 89,000 to 140,000 deaths in the United States (defective drugs, adrugrecall.com). One benefit of the long history of human use of most herbs is that they have hundreds or thousands of years of use in the general population and a substantial record of safety or danger and effectiveness or lack thereof.

Frequently, we hear complaints that herbs are poorly studied and, as such, are dangerous. It is true that the research on most herbs cannot compare to the 10 years of FDA clinical trials required for new drugs. Because herbs are rarely patentable, it is highly unlikely that any company is going to invest the time (approximately 10 years) and money (approximately $350 million to $500 million) to have an herbal product approved as a new drug. Herbs and supplements are sold in the United States as dietary supplements, with no research necessary before being sold. There are significant numbers of studies being performed on herbal medicines, but most are done in Germany, France, Japan, China, and India, and many are hard to access or never translated into English. It would be of tremendous benefit to consumers and clinicians if American companies would increase funding for well-designed and relevant herbal research.