A drop of aristolochiic acid kills a horse
Herbal supplements provoke the development of kidney and liver cancer
In China, faith in traditional medicine is so strong that "medicinal herbs" have long been sold and bought on a par with modern medicines. However, the results of studies published in the journal Science Translational Medicine (Poon et al., Genome-Wide Mutational Signatures of Aristolochic Acid and Its Application as a Screening Tool) proved that the component of some plant dietary supplements is not inferior in carcinogenicity to smoking.
This dangerous ingredient is aristolochiic acid, a substance found in perennial grasses and woody lianas of the Aristolochia family, or kirkazones. These plants have been used for centuries in Chinese folk medicine, including for the treatment of arthritis and the relief of childbirth. Currently, aristolochiic acid is part of dietary supplements for weight loss, treatment of premenstrual syndrome and rheumatism. A 2003 study showed that such dietary supplements are recommended by doctors of one third of all residents of Taiwan.
The first concerns about the safety of aristolochiic acid appeared in the early 1990s, when some Belgian women who took herbal dietary supplements for weight loss developed severe kidney failure. Soon after, researchers were able to establish a link between kidney diseases in rural residents near the Danube River and their consumption of wheat, which was accidentally mixed with kirkazon seeds. Subsequent studies also found a link between the consumption of aristolochiic acid and the development of upper urinary tract cancer, after which this acid was included in the Group of carcinogens No. 1.
In 2001, the FDA called for limiting the use of aristolochiic acid in dietary supplements. By 2003, a ban on its use had come into force in many countries, including Taiwan. However, China is not in a hurry to give up this ingredient yet, besides, dietary supplements with kirkazone can be easily purchased in any country via the Internet.
According to researcher Bin Tin Teh (Bin Tean Teh) from the National Cancer Center in Singapore, so far it has been established that the consumption of this acid causes a mutation of the P53 gene, which is involved in the development of most cancers. To identify other possible mechanisms of action, Te and his colleagues studied kidney tissue samples from 9 Taiwanese residents who developed kidney cancer while taking herbal supplements with kirkazone. Scientists knew that known carcinogens often leave a special trace in the human genome. In the tumor tissue samples, the researchers found more than 1.5 thousand genes with characteristic mutations. Consequently, the carcinogenicity of kirkazone can be compared with cigarettes. Scientists also managed to establish for the first time that aristolochiic acid increases the risk of liver cancer.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru13.08.2013