How safe are Chinese herbal drugs?

Since time immemorial, traditional medicine has been practiced in Nigeria and even till today, a large percentage of the population still show strong affinity for traditional medical practice. However, with the advent of Chinese traditional medicine, the focus shifted from the indigenous method to the use of Chinese alternative medicine, whose constituents are basically the use of herbs and roots as well as dietary therapies. Packaged under various brand names with reports of potency and ability to prevent and treat practically all ailments known to man, its sales have spiked and its acceptance in the Nigerian market has grown
tremendously. However, new research has shown that though this ancient traditional medicine, which has existed since the 15th century and is supposed to be the elixir for all illnesses and conditions, is being threatened by 21st century practices which has made it harmful to people’s health and also  a significant source of pollution to the environment.


The study by Greenpeace on “Chinese Herbs: Elixir of Health or Pesticide Cocktail?”, as published during the week by The New York Times, tested 65 popular Chinese herbs from nine pharmacies in nine Chinese cities and found 48 tested positive for pesticide residues. Six of the residues (found in 26 of the samples) were from pesticides banned in China, including some the World Health Organisation has classified as extremely hazardous. Alarmingly, one pesticide residue was 500 times over the European Union maximum, the study found.

China’s 600 million farmers use close to two million tonnes of pesticides each year but the effective utilisation rate is only about 30 per cent, the Greenpeace study found. The rest turns into hazardous soil, water and air pollution.

These pesticide-sprayed herbs are sometimes processed to be drunk as teas and also brewed, then dried, powdered and turned into capsule form and sold. Over the years, there have been concerns about pesticides in Chinese foods, drinks and other ingested products. Just last year, 12 of the 18 tea products tested in a study were found to contain at least one banned pesticide. In 2011, it was discovered that 35 of 50 vegetables and fruits tested from major supermarket chains across China contained pesticides.

According to Jing Wang, an ecological farming campaigner and project leader of the Greenpeace study, “Chinese herbs are trusted and used as food ingredients for healing purposes by millions of people around the world. They are an iconic part of the Chinese heritage that must be preserved. Chinese herbs should heal, not harm people and must be pesticide free.”

Over the past few years, China has spent 21 billion renminbi on genetic engineering research and development, far outstripping the 700 million renminbi spent on ecological farming.

Experts have expressed concerns and recommend that China needs to do far more to combat the use of potentially dangerous pesticides in farming and the food chain.

“From when we first started paying attention to this issue of pesticides until now, China hasn’t done much to change agricultural practices,” Ms. Wang said. “If the government were to realise the magnitude of this problem and make it a priority, I believe they would have the ability to improve food safety and reduce the use of pesticides. But at present, we haven’t seen this happen.”

Some of the health implications from long-term exposure to toxic pesticide levels may include learning difficulties, hormone disruption and reproductive abnormalities.

Source: Tribune