unrecognized side effects/pregnancy - ginseng

[Guest guest]

As a follow up, this is the information referred to in my previous

email (the MHRA is the UK equivalent of the FDA):

 

http://medicines.mhra.gov.uk/ourwork/licensingmeds/herbalmeds/herbalsa

fety.htm#gin

Ginseng

The MHRA is aware of the study published in " Human Reproduction "

which suggests that ginsenosides (the substances believed to be the

major active ingredient of ginseng) to have effects on normal

embryonic development in rats. The MHRA is reviewing the study and

will update this page in light of its findings. In the mean time,

women are advised to avoid taking ginseng during pregnancy or

lactation.

 

This advice does not apply to Siberian ginseng or Eleutheroccus

senticosus, which is unrelated to Panax ginseng and contains

different chemical constituents.

 

 

 

 

 

--- Original Message -----

" wainwrightchurchill " <w.churchill_1-

 

Monday, October 27, 2003 8:15 AM

unrecognized side effects/pregnancy

 

 

> The Register of Chinese Herbal Medicine recently circulated a

report

> circulated by the UK Department of Health of a research study done

> with rats in which teratogenic effects were found for ginseng.

Scant

> details were given. I didn't follow it up - I believe details can

be

> found on the DoH website.

>

>

> -

> " " <

>

> Sunday, October 26, 2003 11:30 PM

> unrecognized side effects/pregnancy

>

>

> > , " Bob Flaws " <

> > pemachophel2001> wrote:

> > >

> > > According to Robert Anderson, medical anthropologists have

> documented

> > > long-term use of traditional remedies in various cultures where

> those

> > > remedies have/are causing side effects unnoticed by the people

> within

> > > those cultures. Dr. Anderson conveyed this information to me

when

> I,

> > > like you, argued as above. He told me that I was being naive.

If

> a

> > > culture does not expect side effects from a particular therapy,

> then

> > > they may ascribe any such side effects to some other, unrelated

> cause.

> >

> > Bob Flaws

> >

> > With this in mind, I was curious how you feel about the use of

> chinese herbs in

> > pregnant women. Isn't it distinctly possible that certain

chinese

> herbs may

> > have teratogenic effects that were not ascribed to the herbs in

> ancient times

> > because the cause and effect were so far apart in time (compared

to

> > abortifacient effects, which are relatively soon after taking the

> herb). I don't

> > think just because an herb was considered safe in China for use

in

> pregnancy

> > that it automatically gets a clean bill of health vis a vis

> teratogenesis. Did the

> > chinese even have a concept of herbs causing birth defects? Or

> were certain

> > herbs prohibited only when they were known to induce

miscarriage.

> A

> > cursory survey of the materia medica seems to suggest the latter.

> >

>