Aristolochic acid has been banned by many countries due to its link with urothelial cancer, but there has been no documentation of herbal products containing aristolochic acid linked to cancer cases until now.

To examine this association, Jung-Der Wang, M.D., ScD, of the Institute of Occupational Medicine and Industrial Hygiene, College of Public Health, at the National Taiwan University, and colleagues conducted a population-based case-control study of Taiwanese patients newly diagnosed with urinary tract cancer from January 1, 2001, to December 31, 2002. They also looked at a random sample of the entire insured population from January 1, 1997, to December 31, 2002. There were 4,594 case patients and 174,701 control subjects in the final analysis. The authors examined the association between having been prescribed Mu Tong, an herb that contains aristolochic acid, and urinary tract cancer using data from the National Health Insurance reimbursement database.

Having been prescribed more than 60 g of Mu Tong (possibly adulterated by Guan Mu Tong before banned), or consumption of an estimated amount of more than 150 mg of aristolochic acid was associated with an increased risk of urinary tract cancer in a dose-dependent manner. The increased risk was independent of arsenic exposure (another risk factor for urinary tract cancer).

Source: Science Daily

Seven months of scientific and clinical studies showed the remedy, called “Jin Hua Qing Gan Fang,” was effective in treating A/H1N1 flu patients, said Wang Chen, president of Beijing’s Chaoyang Hospital.

“It can shorten patients’ fever period and improve their respiratory systems. Doctors have found no negative effects on patients who were treated in this way,” he said.

The basic scientific studies lasted for almost five months and were conducted by experts from the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Beijing University of Technology.

“In vivo and in vitro, experiments on mice and rabbits show Jin Hua can bring down a fever and resist the A/H1N1 flu virus,” said Huang Luqi, vice president of the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences.

No word on what herbs actually went into making Jin Hua Qing Gan Fang, but the name is pretty cool. The Chinese government has also been a little less than forthcoming regarding H1N1 numbers, so I wouldn’t mind seeing some independent confirmation of this herbal treatment’s effectiveness before we start crazy-celebrating.

Source: China Daily

“Prices started to surge around September,” said Zhao Fangling, the general manager of a garlic processing company in Shandong’s Jinxiang county.

“Garlic was so cheap in the previous two years that some of it was just dumped as trash. Farmers lost money and stopped planting it so supplies dropped by 30-40 per cent,” he said.

The bulbs have been given a boost partly due to renewed fears over swine flu, as traditional Chinese doctors have recommended garlic as protection from A(H1N1) influenza.

While it is commonly used in Chinese medicine, flu experts caution that there is no scientific proof that garlic is an effective way to ward off H1N1 flu. That said, pass the pesto — it sure couldn’t hurt.

Source: The West Australian