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Quality of Chinese herbs?

Page last modified on: October 2, 2008
Question from EmmLo: How do I know the quality of the Chinese herbs I get is safe?
Answer —Raymond Chang, M.D.: There is no oversight necessarily. The FDA only responds if there are complaints or actual cases where something bad has already happened. Then they will go and ban the substance, such as Kava-kava.

You're not going to know ahead of time that there may be a potential problem, so you're going to have to rely on a good practitioner. There's not necessarily any standardization of the ingredients, and you don't know the source of the material.

Take ginseng, for example—you don't know as a consumer or patient where it came from or how it was processed so it's hard to know if a batch was tainted. There was an herbal treatment for prostate cancer called PC-Spes which was effective until the California Department of Health Services discovered the herbs were tainted with Western drugs, DES [diethylstilbestrol] and tranquilizers. So issues like standardization and quality control may be a problem with herbs as it's not a highly regulated market. You have to go by your practitioner, the source from where you're getting it. Unfortunately the oversight is not completed yet.

On Wednesday, September 21, 2005, our Ask-the-Expert Online Conference was called Traditional Chinese Medicine. Raymond Chang, M.D. and moderator Beth Baughman Dupree, M.D., F.A.C.S. answered your questions about how to discuss Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) with your cancer doctor.

The materials presented in these conferences do not necessarily reflect the views of breastcancer.org. A qualified healthcare professional should be consulted before using any therapeutic product or regimen discussed. All readers should verify all information and data before employing any therapies described here.

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Meet the Experts

Raymond Chang, M.D. is an internationally respected physician-acupuncturist uniquely trained in traditional Chinese medicine as well as contemporary Western medicine, and he is an acknowledged pioneer-specialist in integrative programs for cancer, infertility, and other difficult-to-treat conditions.

Beth Baughman DuPree, M.D., F.A.C.S.Beth Baughman DuPree, M.D., F.A.C.S. is a general surgeon. Her clinical practice is located at Holy Redeemer Hospital and St. Mary Medical Center.

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