That these medicines have been available to the general public for years
without first checking what is actually
in them is beyond disgraceful. Surely
this wouldn’t happen in any other country in the world.
Article by Laura Gartry, ABC News, Sydney, 11 December 2015
Some traditional Chinese medicines are laced with pharmaceuticals, heavy
metals and even endangered animals, new research has revealed.
Traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) have long been thought by some as a
more natural, herbal approach to curing ailments.
But now a study carried out by Curtin University, Murdoch University and
the University of Adelaide has found 90 per cent of 26 widely available
medicines tested were not fit for human consumption.
Key points:
·
Study found 90pc of 26 widely available medicines not fit for human
consumption
·
Half contained illegal substances, including toxic metals, prescription
medication, stimulants
·
Some contained arsenic, lead, Viagra, rat poison and DNA of endangered
species
·
Researcher says 'honour system' of TGA listing being exploited
Half contained illegal substances, including toxic metals, prescription
medications, stimulants and animal DNA, none of which were listed on the
product's label.
TCMs are a multi-billion-dollar industry and it is estimated 50 per cent
of Australians have used alternative therapies at some point.
Researchers employed a new method involving highly sensitive DNA
sequencing, toxicology and heavy metal testing to assess the composition of the
TCMs.
The study does not disclose the brands of medicines checked, but
confirmed they were purchased in Adelaide and available for sale in retailers
and markets nationally.
Curtin University lead researcher Professor Michael Bunce said the
results were shocking.
"Half of them have illegal ingredients in them, we've determined
from DNA, half of them have got pharmaceuticals added to them that are clearly
synthetic in nature and have not come from natural compounds," he said.
"Another proportion of them have heavy metals beyond the safe
ingestion recommendations ... 90 per cent of them are really not fit for human
consumption."
Murdoch University biochemist Dr Garth Maker said contamination by
undisclosed pharmaceuticals was a health concern.
He said over-the-counter drugs like paracetamol and ibuprofen were found
but also steroids, blood thinner warfarin and even sildenafil, the active
ingredient in Viagra.
"We were surprised but at the same time, there definitely seems to
be an element of deception in designing these things to have a specific
outcome," he said.
"They may contain ephedrine, which will give a lot of people a
buzz, and therefore they feel good and they think 'this is fantastic medicine,
I should keep taking it'."
Arsenic, lead,
strychnine found in some medicines
Arsenic, cadmium and lead were found in some of the Chinese medicine.
One of the herbal concoctions contained over 10 times the recommended
daily limit for arsenic exposure.
Another contained strychnine, which is used as a rat poison and at lower
levels as a performance-enhancing drug.
"Obviously if someone has been taking this for a very long time,
they may have unwittingly exposed themselves to reasonably high levels of the
poison strychnine," Dr Maker said.
"If we don't know what's in them, it's very difficult to predict
the interactions, and also [they can be] taken with other medications.
"That's obviously of great concern if they [have] been given to
children, or pregnant women, the potential outcomes there are very
serious," he said.
DNA of endangered
species detected
Professor Bunce said one of most alarming results was the DNA presence of
endangered species.
"One herbal medicine that's for sale had trace amounts of snow
leopard DNA in it," Professor Bunce said.
"We also found DNA from pit vipers, frogs and trace amounts of cat
and dog DNA."
Whether the animal products were primary ingredients or the result of poor
manufacturing processes is yet to be determined.
Curtin University researcher Dr Megan Coghlan said the result
demonstrated that despite heavy penalties for illegal trafficking of protected
wildlife, poaching and smuggling was still occurring, with traditional medicine
a significant "push-factor".
"Moreover, consumers of this particular medicine would be unaware
that they have been ingesting content from this species, as it was not listed
as an ingredient," Dr Coghlan said.
Push for more
regulation of herbal imports
Professor Bunce said each herbal medicine sold in Australia needs to be
listed with the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), but only 12 of the
products tested were registered with the agency and are deemed
"low-risk".
The remaining 14 were not registered by the TGA and therefore should not
be available to Australian consumers in a commercial quantity.
The TGA relies on the importer to make a true declaration about the
ingredients, an honesty system Dr Garth believes is being exploited.
"We would hope there would be a rigorous screening procedure
adopted by the TGA to actually monitor these compounds, medicines before they
are actually put on sale," said Dr Garth.
The TGA declined to be interviewed but a spokeswoman said in a statement
that most complementary medicines are listed medicines and considered to be of
relatively low-risk to consumers.
"[They are] complementary because they may only contain
pre-approved low-risk ingredients and must not make claims or imply that they
have benefit for the treatment or prevention of a serious illness," she
said.
"The TGA has worked directly with persons responsible for
introducing the product to the Australian market referred to in the article to
ensure compliance with the requirements of Australia's therapeutic goods
legislation."
At least one of the products found to illegally contain ephedrine has
since been placed on a Customs watch list and authorities have been told to
stop any future imports.
The ABC can reveal at least five of the tested products already had
customs warning alerts overseas, including two in Malaysia and one in the
United Kingdom.
Mr Maker said the practise is widespread and increasing.
Contamination 'not
widespread': Chinese medicine proponent
National President of the Federation of Chinese Medicine Society of
Australia Professor Tzi Chiang Lin said he did not believe such findings would
be widespread across the industry.
"Of course, there are some people ... that are not that good and they
might be making something not very nicely," he said.
"[But you] can not [put] blame on the whole profession, it will be
one or two individuals. It may be one or two cases [that have] happened, but
not many," he said.
Professor Lin said the TGA's current regulatory regime is
"perfect".
"The low-risk herbal medicines [are] already regulated very closely
by [the] TGA, and they supervise very strictly the manufacturers in
China," he said.
"Over-regulation will mean trouble for the industry and [would not
be] fair for the profession."
Professor Lin said traces of heavy metal contamination were not
particularly unusual and probably linked to the soil ingredients were grown in,
as they had chemical fertilisers added.
The study's findings have been published in the journal Nature
Scientific Reports.
Researchers plan to now scrutinise up to 300 other widely available
herbal medicines.
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