Herbal Supplement Use and Blood Lead Levels of United States Adults.

J Gen Intern Med. 2009 Jul 3; Buettner C, Mukamal KJ, Gardiner P, Davis RB, Phillips RS, Mittleman MABACKGROUND: Some herbal supplements may contain lead. OBJECTIVE: To examine whether use of specific herbal dietary supplements during the last 30 days is associated with blood lead levels in US men and women. DESIGN: Cross-sectional analysis. STUDY POPULATION: NHANES participants from 1999-2004, a representative sample of the civilian non-institutionalized US population. MEASUREMENTS: Lead was measured in blood. Associations between lead and self-reported supplement use were estimated using multivariable regression weighted to account for NHANES sampling. Herbal supplements investigated were those previously reported to contain high heavy metal content: Ayurvedic or traditional Chinese medicine herbs, echinacea, ginkgo, ginseng, St. John's wort, and "other" herbs (specifically, kava, valerian, black cohosh, bee pollen, and nettle). MAIN RESULTS: Among 6,712 women >/=20 years, those using herbal supplements had lead levels that were 10% higher than non-users (95% CI 3%-17%, p = 0.005). Women using Ayurvedic or traditional Chinese medicine herbs, St. John's wort, and "other" herbs had lead levels 24% (95% CI 5%-45%, p = 0.01), 23% (95% CI 4%-46%), p = 0.02), and 21% (95% CI 2%-44%, p = 0.03) higher, respectively, than non-users. No significant associations were observed between herb use and lead levels among men (n = 6,095). Among reproductive-aged women (16-45 years), herbal supplement users had lead levels 20% higher than non-users (95% CI 5%-34%, p = 0.008). In contrast, garlic and other dietary supplements were not associated with higher lead levels. CONCLUSION: Use of specific herbal supplements is associated with higher blood lead levels among women. Our data suggest testing guidelines for herbal supplements and regulations limiting lead in supplements are needed.

Anti-tumor effect of Liqi, a traditional Chinese medicine prescription, in tumor bearing mice.

BMC Complement Altern Med. 2009 Jul 1; 9(1): 20Ji DB, Ye J, Jiang YM, Qian BWABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Liqi, an herbal preparation used in traditional Chinese medicine, has been used to treat cancer in China for centuries. We investigated the anti-tumor effects of liqi and their mechanisms in mice that had been xenografted with tumors. METHODS: Sarcoma 180 tumor, Lewis lung carcinoma, and SGC-7901 cells were implanted in BALB/c mice, C57BL/6 mice, and BALB/c nude mice, respectively. Liqi was administered to subgroups of these mice. The tumor weight and size were measured. Cell cycle assay and T lymphocyte subsets were determined by flow cytometry. The activity of NK cells and TNF was tested using cytotoxicity assay on YAC-1 cells and L929 cells, respectively, and the activity of IL-2 was tested with an IL-2-dependent CTLL-2 cell proliferation assay. Platelet aggregation was monitored by measuring electric impedance, and the levels of thromboxane A2 (TXA2) and prostacyclin (PGI2) in blood were measured by 125I-TXB2 and 125I-Keto-PGF1alpha radioimmunoassay. RESULTS: The results showed that liqi inhibited tumor growth in tumor-implanted mice and arrested the cell proliferation in the G0/G1 phase and reduced the portion of cells in S and G2/M phase for SGC-7901 cells. Liqi increased the activity of NK cells and TNF-alpha, stimulated IL-2 production and activity, and regulated T lymphocyte subpopulations. Liqi inhibited the Lewis lung carcinoma metastasis by inhibiting platelet aggregation and normalizing the balance between TXA2 and PGI2. CONCLUSIONS: All these findings demonstrated that liqi has an anti-tumor effect in vivo. The mechanism may be related to immune regulation and anticoagulation effects.

Parasite control in the age of drug resistance and changing agricultural practices.

Vet Parasitol. 2009 Jun 13; Molento MBThe benefits of using antiparasitic drugs in farm animals are unquestionable. However, despite anthelmintic use as the predominant control strategy, extreme parasite infection cases are appearing in sheep and goat production; these impact productivity and have show mortality rates reaching pre-drug use levels. This was a predictable situation resulting from the loss of efficacy by all available products, particularly when some products were used as the sole intervention. The concepts of agroecology and holistic agriculture, which advocate the use of integrated management strategies, such as target selected treatment, herbal medicine, and the application of other parasite control alternatives, are not completely new, but are undergoing a resurgence because of their more sustainable appeal. The objective of this review article is to examine the problem of parasite control in the face of parasite drug resistance and to outline some strategies that may be used in parasite control programmes. Before they are accepted and recommended by the WAAVP, agroecological methods such as those listed above and described in detail herein should be validated based on scientific evidence of their efficacy for parasite control and should be tested for both host and environmental safety.