An Australian study has found that bak kut teh, or pork ribs soup, could cause liver failure if used in conjunction with Western medication.
Bak kut teh is a popular Chinese dish, whose name translates to meat bone tea. However, there is no tea in the dish, made up of pork ribs that have been simmered in a broth of herbs and spices. Instead, the name refers to a strong oolong Chinese tea served alongside the soup in the belief that it cuts through the copious amount of fat consumed in this pork-laden dish.
It is believed to have originated from Fujian, China. However, the soup is commonly consumed widely across Asia.
Adelaide University professor and forensic expert Dr. Roger Byard made four different versions of the soup, including those served at Adelaide restaurants, and added them to cultures of liver cancer cells.
He used ingredients such as dried hawthorn, goji berries, ginseng, bark, and dried mushrooms.
“When mixed with liver cells, the ingredients killed up to 83 percent in one concentrated soup formula,” Byard said.
“For the first time, a laboratory study by the University of Adelaide has shown that foods containing herbs, such as the soup bak kut teh, may also be toxic to liver cells.”
He said that warnings have been in place for some time, alerting people that herbal medicines and therapies may have harmful side effects that can include liver damage and even death.
Herbal Medicine and COVID-19
Previously, Byard has questioned the recent studies on Chinese herbal remedies for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19.In an editorial published in Forensic Science, Medicine and Pathology in 2021, Byard and his co-author Ian Musgrave said that while it is highly probable that certain traditional herbal preparations “may alleviate symptoms” of infectious diseases such as muscle aches and fevers, the evidence that herbs can prevent infection is “less compelling.”
However, the authors said that they are not dismissing herbal therapy altogether.
“This editorial is in no way suggesting that traditional herbal preparations may not have a role in treating the symptoms of viral infections,” Byard said.
“But is instead drawing attention to the fact that herbal preparations do carry sometimes serious side effects and that these can be magnified by the ingestion of multiple herbs and the accompanying use of Western pharmaceuticals.”
He advised community members to not follow “unproven theories” of herbal treatment of COVID-19, especially when it comes to children, who are extra susceptible to the side effects due to their immature metabolic pathways and physiological processes.
Byard said that people with underlying liver disease or who are taking prescription medications should be warned of the potential side effect of liver damage.
“All such preparations should include accurate labelling of the ingredients until further studies can be undertaken to identify the specific herbal substances that are toxic,” he advised.
However, there have been many recent studies that support the therapeutic effects of herbal medicine for COVID-19.
A paper published in 2021 reviewed the studies exploring herbal preparations for treating COVID-19 and found encouraging results in preventing and reducing symptoms.
The review found that ginger, lemon, orange, vitamin C, honey, garlic, ginger, turmeric, chilli, lemon, and hot water with salt all significantly impacted the management of COVID-19.
“Different herbal medicine can interfere with COVID-19 by inhibiting SARS-CoV-2 replication and entry to its host cells,” the study said.
University Lecturer Wants to Bring Ancient Herbal Remedies to Clinics
Modern medicine focuses extensively on diseases, and medical students spend many years in school studying the body in a diseased state and the diseases themselves, whereas traditional and ancient medicinal practices, using food as medicine, is one of the main pillars.Senior pharmacy lecturer Kamal Dua from the University of Technology, Sydney, is someone who has his eyes set on blending modern medicine with traditional herbal medicine.
He is designing a method of using nanoparticles to deliver berberine, a natural compound found in turmeric, barberry, and red wine and has shown to be effective in treating lung cancer. The novel delivery is aimed at reducing the dosage and hence the side effects of the herbal supplement.
Questions Over the Safety of Herbal Medicine Made in China
Another problem with traditional herbal medicine in the west is that many ingredients are imported from China.Vegetables are no exception and are often laden with chemical pesticides, fertilisers, and preservatives to give off a healthy appearance.
While there is no way to know whether the same vegetables adulterated in China are those exported to the United States, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration inspects less than three percent of imports for violations and deficiencies.
