In the field of identification, two major mix-ups illustrate the problem. While plantain is commonly used as an herbal laxative and topical ointment, digitalis causes low blood pressure, vomiting and dizziness. FDA issued the warning after a woman taking a contaminated supplement experienced a life-threatening abnormal heart rate and heart blockage. The second example has a longer history that has led to a current industry and FDA alert on botanicals containing aristolochic acid. In Belgium in the early 1990s, a number of women were found to be suffering from kidney failure after taking a Chinese supplement for weight loss.
Contamination is another issue in botanicals.
Special Health Hazard Substance List. Neither EPA nor FDA at that time thought the residue posed enough of a health risk to spark a product recall. As of January 1999, industry members agreed that the ginseng assay would allow for no quintozene. Finally, there is method of action. As more botanicals are studied for their mode of action and toxicity, researchers are finding possible contraindications.