September 19, 2003 – Star anise herbal tea, which is sometimes used to relieve colic in infants, may have caused seizures, warns the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The federal agency recently identified 40 cases of seizures linked to this herbal tea, including at least 15 in babies.
There are two varieties of star anise: the Chinese variety, also called Chinese Badian (Illicium verum), and the Japanese variety. When their leaves have been dried and crushed, it is impossible to distinguish them from one another. However, if the use of Chinese Badian is safe, the Japanese variety would be rather poisonous and intended only for decorative purposes.
The FDA believes that the Japanese variety may have been incorrectly imported, identified, and sold as Chinese Badian. The agency therefore recommends that consumers refrain from using this substance until the situation has been clarified, in addition to pointing out that the effectiveness of the Chinese variety has never been scientifically demonstrated.
In addition, British researchers recently demonstrated that Chinese herbal medicine products sold under the same name may in fact contain completely different substances, since manufacturers have complete freedom to add or remove ingredients. They believe this poses an unacceptable risk to consumers, who will never know exactly what product they are taking or in what quantity.
The results of their research have not been published but were made public at the British Pharmaceutical Conference.
Jean-Benoit Legault – PasseportSanté.net
According to Associated Press and NutraIngredients.com; September 11 and 18, 2003.
