Is Aristolochia poisonous?

Thousands of words can be summed up in one sentence: if you need to see a doctor, you can eat with peace of mind! If you trust your doctor, and you firmly believe in his professional ethics and Chinese medicine, you must also firmly believe that he will always help you and will never harm you! If you dare to take medicine, why are you afraid of taking Chinese medicine?

Harmful ingredients in Chinese herbal medicines are usually the ingredients used to treat illnesses, which is like fighting poison with poison. Whether Chinese herbal medicines are harmful or not, the key is whether they can treat the disease. If the treatment is symptomatic, harmful drugs are safe; if the treatment is not symptomatic, non-toxic drugs are also harmful.

Recently, there has been a lot of discussion about the "Aristolochia carcinogen" incident. The matter originated from a graduate thesis published in the journal Translational Medicine. The article suggested that aristolochic acid may be a risk factor for liver cancer, but did not provide evidence that aristolochic acid causes liver cancer. Regarding this matter, a spokesperson for the State Food and Drug Administration stated that based on large clinical epidemiological samples and data analysis, liver cancer in my country is mainly caused by hepatitis B virus infection. There is no strong data to support whether it is directly related to aristolochic acid.

The research results of the thesis pointed out that 78% of 98 liver cancer cases in Taiwan and 47% of 89 liver cancer cases in mainland China showed aristolochic acid-related mutation characteristics. In fact, gene mutation does not equal cancer, and the relationship between Chinese medicinal materials containing aristolochic acid and liver cancer is still unclear. However, with the repeated spread of the news media, the topic became more and more shocking.

In recent years, the harmful names of Chinese medicinal materials have been widely known. Chinese herbal medicines can damage the liver and yang, and most of them remain in the form of unclear and inexplicable legends. However, some media and websites took advantage of this, not only questioning the toxicity of traditional Chinese medicine, but also further reasoning that "harmful traditional Chinese medicine should never be eaten indiscriminately", vilifying the entire traditional Chinese medicine industry with the charge of "groundless rumors".

In traditional Chinese medicine, the "toxicity" of a drug refers to its nature. Depending on the severity of its efficacy, it can be divided into highly toxic, moderately toxic, toxic, and non-toxic. Harmful ingredients in Chinese herbal medicines are usually the ingredients used to treat illnesses, which is like fighting poison with poison. For example, strychnine in strychnine and croton oil in croton are both harmful ingredients and poisonous substances. The toxic side effects of toxic Chinese medicine can be alleviated or eliminated through the preparation or combination of Chinese medicine. Whether Chinese herbal medicines are harmful or not, the key is whether they can treat the disease. The ancients said: "The harm of medicine lies in the fact that there is no medicine." If the treatment is symptomatic, harmful drugs are safe; if the treatment is not symptomatic, non-toxic drugs are also harmful.

As Xu Lingtai, a Chinese medicine doctor in the Qing Dynasty, said: "Although licorice and ginseng can cause harm if used incorrectly, they are all chronic poisons." Without the guidance of traditional Chinese medicine, it is easy to get into trouble if we abuse or misuse traditional Chinese medicine. If you take it under the guidance of a doctor, according to the safe dosage and medication time, it will not cause toxic side effects.