http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2004/12/15/report_ties_some_herb_remedies_to_toxic_metals/ Report ties some herb remedies to toxic metals By Stephen Smith, Globe Staff | December 15, 2004 South Asian herbal remedies sold next to curry powder and basmati rice in Boston-area ethnic food markets may contain harmful amounts of lead, mercury, and arsenic, according to researchers who have analyzed their contents. The scientists, first alerted to the danger by reports of patients suffering seizures after taking herbs, discovered that one in five of the imported products they bought in local shops had levels of heavy metals sometimes hundreds of times higher than the daily amount considered safe for oral consumption. The same products are sold nationwide. The herbal pills, powders, and liquids are a cornerstone in the practice of Ayurvedic medicine, an ancient holistic system of health that originated in India and that emphasizes the mind-body connection. It relies on herbs and oils to treat illness and prevent disease. An estimated 80 percent of India's 1 billion adults and children use the remedies as a routine part of health care. The herbs are not regulated in India, and in this country, unlike prescription drugs or over-the-counter medicines, the imported products can be sold without rigorous scientific testing, subject only to the same standards that apply to food. The authors of the report on Ayurvedic products called on the US Food and Drug Administration to test all imported herbal remedies for toxic metals. Critics of the agency said the Boston findings highlight the need for tighter regulation of dietary supplements, products containing natural ingredients that consumers take to enhance health, lose weight, sleep, and improve sexual performance. 'I absolutely think nothing should be sold without it being tested, and there should be active regulation of all products that are sold whether they're natural remedies, over-the-counter, or prescription drugs," said Dr. Michael Shlipak, a San Francisco researcher who authored a landmark study detailing the dangers of the herb ephedra. 'It's naive to think there aren't many dangerous products out there." But users of the herbs in this country insist that the products are reliable and that safety concerns reflect bias by Western medical practitioners against treatments that started in the East. The Boston study, published in today's Journal of the American Medical Association, comes amid an unprecedented boom in the use of herbal remedies -- along with other alternative medical practices -- and a campaign to validate the safety and effectiveness of those pills and treatments by government and academic researchers. In national surveys, 14 to 18 percent of US adults report regularly taking herbs and other dietary supplements to address everything from flatulence to hemorrhoids to incontinence. 'We now have roughly one in five adults routinely using herbs and supplements in the context of their health care, and it's growing," said Dr. David M. Eisenberg, director of Harvard Medical School's Osher Institute, which is devoted to testing alternative medical techniques. 'We've also become increasingly aware that herbs and supplements have the capacity to do good as well as harm, and that they also have the capacity to interact with other herbs and drugs."