Aristolochic acid (AA) is a common ingredient in Asian remedies for weight loss, easing joint pain and improving stomach ailments. AA is also a potent human carcinogen.

According to the latest research, AA can interact with a person’€™s DNA and form unique biomarkers of exposure, as well as creating signals within tumour-suppressing genes that indicate the carcinogen has been ingested.

Urinary tract- and kidney cancer rates are about four times higher in Taiwan than in Western countries, according to the research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Previous research has shown than about one-third of the population of Taiwan has taken AA in recent years.

‘€œIt is a rare tumour and Taiwan has the highest incidence of any country in the world,’€ said lead author, Arthur Grollman of the Stony Brook University in the United States.

The research was based on data collected from 151 patients with urinary tract cancer, of whom 60% showed specific mutations linked to the herbal remedy. After being ingested, the acid forms a unique kind of lesion in the renal cortex, and also gives rise to a particular mutational signature in the TP53 tumour-suppressing gene, according to the study.

The herb is also known as ‘€œbirthwort’€ because it was often given to women during childbirth.

‘€œThis has been used by every culture in the world from the earliest written record,’€ said Grollman.

In the 1990s, a group of Belgian women reported sudden late-stage kidney failure after taking a weight-loss drug that contained AA.

Even though many countries have taken steps to warn of the risk, the ingredient is difficult to control and still finds its way into products via the internet, said Grollman, adding that most of the AA products currently being used in Taiwan are made in China.

Source: Sapa; AFP