Chinese Herbal Tea Ingredient Linked to Cancer

Reported December 22, 2009

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Herbal teas may help you relax, but new studies show that an acid found in Chinese herbal teas may increase the risk of urinary tract cancer.

The carcinogen aristolochic acid, which was found in many prescribed Chinese herbal products including Guan Mu Tong, was linked to a higher risk of cancer.

Researchers in Taiwan conducted a population-based case-control study of patients recently diagnosed with urinary tract cancer. They also looked at a random sample of the entire insured population. Having been prescribed more than 60 grams of Mu Tong or consumption of an estimated amount of 150 mg of aristolochic acid was associated with an increased risk of urinary tract cancer in a dose-dependent matter.

"In addition to a ban on products that contain any amount of aristolochic acid, we also recommend continued surveillance of herbs or Chinese herbal products that might be adulterated with aristolochic acid-containing herbs," the authors of the study were quoted as saying.

SOURCE: Journal of the National Cancer Institute, December 21, 2009