Ginseng Use During Pregnancy May Hurt Baby (?)

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http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_14101.html

 

Reuters Health

 

Thursday, September 25, 2003

 

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Ginseng, the most commonly used herbal

medicine worldwide, contains a chemical, called ginsenoside Rb1,

which may harm a growing fetus, new findings suggest. Until further

research is available, women should be cautious about using the herb

during early pregnancy.

 

" Although there are numerous reports in the literature concerning the

potential benefit of ginseng, much less is known about the potential

toxicity and there are no data about its potential effect on the

developing human fetus, " lead author Dr. Louis Chan, from The Chinese

University of Hong Kong in Shatin, said in a statement.

 

Recent survey results suggest that ginseng use during pregnancy is

common, he noted, with up to 10% of women in certain Asian countries

reporting such use.

 

In the new study, reported in the medical journal Human Reproduction,

Dr. Chan's team used rat embryos to assess the effect of different

ginsenoside doses on growth and development.

 

Overall growth and development was impaired in ginsenoside-exposed

embryos compared with unexposed embryos and the degree of impairment

increased as the ginsenoside dose rose. In particular, a big drop in

arm and leg development was noted.

 

" Although results from animal...studies may not reflect circumstances

in humans, our findings suggest that further investigations and

monitoring of embryonic effects of ginsenoside on human pregnancy are

warranted, " the investigators conclude.

 

SOURCE: Human Reproduction, September 25, 2003.

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Dan