Plant-based drugs can cause cancer

There is an opinion that herbal medicines are safer for the body than chemical drugs, but American researchers have refuted this. According to them, such medicines are even more harmful to health than chemical ones and can provoke serious diseases and mutations in genes.

The scientists described the results of their research in an article that was published in one of the scientific journals. The researchers declared herbal medicines to be harmful to human health and the authors of the project called on their colleagues to conduct global research in this area to determine the level of toxicity of such drugs, as well as their effectiveness.

As an example, scientists cited the plant Aristolochia (Aristolochia), a study of which showed that it contains high levels of carcinogens (it is worth noting that Aristolochia has been used in medicine for several thousand years).

Also in their work, scientists noted that about 5% of the population of our planet are genetically predisposed to the toxic effects of substances formed in the body when aristolochia is ingested. This interaction leads to various DNA mutations, and healthy cells can degenerate into atypical ones. Taking aristolochia can lead to severe kidney dysfunction, inflammatory processes, and oncological diseases of the urinary system. In addition, experiments have confirmed the relationship between taking herbal preparations and liver cancer.

Herbal treatment is widely practiced in Asian and African countries, and it is in these regions that frequent cases of adverse reactions after taking herbal medicines are observed. According to Donald Marcus, professor of medicine and immunology, most of these drugs can cause serious pathologies, but this does not mean that such drugs should be completely abandoned. The authors of the new research project aimed to draw the attention of WHO representatives to the need to conduct more in-depth studies in this area, to identify possible toxic effects of herbal medicines.

In another study, researchers found that cold medications may pose health risks to children, especially over-the-counter drugs that parents often buy because of advertising.

The researchers came to these conclusions after surveying more than 3,000 parents and their children under 6. The scientists were mainly interested in what medications were given to children for colds and coughs between 2008 and 2011, and how often parents gave such medications to their children. The survey helped identify about 300 names of combination medications that were most popular among parents. The scientists also found that more than 15% of children take medications that were not prescribed by a pediatrician, and parents do not even realize that such treatment can threaten the child's life and continue to rely on advertising instead of seeking professional help.

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