Nearly half of the complementary and alternative medicines tested by scientists contained ingredients that were potentially harmful or just icky. Photo: Supplied Children are at risk of being poisoned by alternative medicines sold in pharmacies. Scientists say the herbal drugs are flouting regulations by not labelling potentially toxic ingredients. This week the Therapeutic Goods Administration advised a recall of Jin Gui Shen Qi Wan, a complementary medicine used in traditional Chinese medicine and marketed “to help or treat various complaints including mild bronchitis”. Pills tested by the TGA were found to contain levels of aconitum alkaloids, which are toxic to humans. “Poisoning with these compounds may affect the heart, the nervous system and the gastrointestinal system. Children are particularly at risk,” the TGA advised. Tighter screening called for In a move unrelated to the recall, Australian scientists, based on two alarming studies, are asking why these sorts of products […]