The Underbelly Of Chinese Medicine

There is no doubt that any time that medicine is found to use methods which work, scam artists who will seek to copy methodology, look, and taste of the discovery. Yet unlike the original, the knockoff generally does not have the healing power but instead may actually cause health problems.

Take for example the 2001 scandal surrounding Chinese patent medicines when it was discovered that several of them contained mercury, lead, strychnine, and also aristolochia. While the poisonous qualities of the former ingredients are well known and documented, it is the latter that took several purveyors of traditional Chinese medicines by surprise. Aristolochia is the name of a plant that is sometimes referred to as pipevine while other times it is sold under the moniker Dutchman’s pipe. These vines are among the perennials and the large flowers emit a strong yet pleasing scent.

This is the plant you would love to hate since it has a host of applications within the realm of medicine, while at the same time presenting a clear and present danger to the person using it. For example, it is known that in times past the plant was used to help women in labor to also deliver the placenta, but in many cases an even slight misjudgment of the dosage would lead to the mother’s death. Similarly, snakebites were also treated with the plant but in some cases death followed because of the plant’s application, even though the symptoms from the snakebite had abated.

In the underbelly of Chinese medicine, ruthless manufacturers have found that several of highly desired results can be simulated by exchanging aristolochia for the more expensive and harder to find ingredient. Unfortunately, the end result is the potential for death in the patient. The medical scandal from 2001 revealed that the plant’s extracts directly attacks the kidneys which seek to filter out the toxin from the body. If administered in a low dose for the short term only, it is sought to be relatively harmless, but even a slight elevation of the dose, an increase in the patient’s susceptibility, and also a prolonged exposure to it results in the patient’s need for dialysis and subsequent kidney transplantation. Furthermore, since the substance is now considered a highly toxic carcinogen, it has also become associated with numerous cancers.

It had a great detrimental effect when the manufacturers of the substance refused to cooperate with the authorities and instead of releasing dosages and all other information available, some simply disappeared, while others simply proclaimed ignorance. This behavior greatly set back the advance of Chinese medicine as a reputable alternative to Western medicine, and in many cases also as a complementary treatment. It also hurt those manufacturers who never once substituted any ingredient and were actively attempting to enter the United States as well as the European markets. Even now, some seven six to seven years later, the mistrust that was created in 2001 still permeates many of the dealings cautious Westerners have with Chinese medicine and it is likely that this setback will continue to haunt this practice for many more years to come.

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