The Risks of Using Personally Imported Traditional Chinese Drugs (Decoction)

Abstract

In Chinese herbal drugs, different drugs have the same name, causing confusion of drug origin which might cause harmful effects when clinically applied. We examined a 19-year-old female who acquired Chinese herbs syndrome (aristolochia nephropathy) induced by a mixture of crude Chinese drugs. She had imported the Chinese drug (decoction) consisting of approximately 20 natural elements and taken it for atopic dermatitis over a course of approximately 3 years. We identified“Guan Mutong”of Aristolochiaceae as analyzed by means of thin-layer chromatography (TLC) and highperformance liquid chromatography (HPLC). We confirmed aristolochic acid, a known nephrotoxin, from stem slices of“Guan Mutong”in her drug. It is not known if“Guan Mutong”was intentionally included in her imported Chinese drugs or put in by mistake. However, the present study has suggested the possibility that the Chinese herb“Guan Mutong”which is potentially nephrotoxic, might be accidentally delivered in the plant fraction of the Chinese drug. The possible adverse effects of crude Chinese drugs should be emphasized for patients who self-administer them.