This Article  • References  • Full text PDF  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citation map  • Citing articles on HighWire  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Similar articles in JAMA  Social Bookmarking   What's this?

Revisiting a Dangerous Alternative

Raymond S. Koff, MD

JAMA. 1995;273(6):502.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

So-called alternative, nontraditional, or unconventional medicine is widely used in the United States, and unconventional remedies are consumed by a large proportion of the population.¹ Nutritional supplements and herbal compounds are heavily promoted and often readily available in pharmacies, supermarkets, health food stores, and offices of ethnic herbalists. Advertising in lay nutrition, health, and bodybuilding magazines, as well as word of mouth, also promotes consumption of these products. Since many of these preparations are derived from botanical species, they are considered safe. However, these herbal products, in the form of teas, powders, tablets, and capsules, are not regulated by federal or state agencies, and neither safety nor efficacy studies have been performed. The report by Gordon et al² in this issue of THE JOURNAL is a striking reminder that some of these unregulated products are potent hepatotoxins. Fulminant hepatic failure resulting from the ingestion of chaparral highlights the . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

Author Affiliations
From the Department of Medicine, MetroWest Medical Center, Framingham, Mass.

Footnotes
Corresponding author: Raymond S. Koff, MD, Department of Medicine, Metro-West Medical Center, 115 Lincoln St, Framingham, MA 01701.

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter     What's this?