SOME HERBS FOUND TO POSE GRIM HEALTH RISKS

WASHINGTON (AP) - Burkhard Bilger and his wife never had heard that the
ancients used the herb pennyroyal to induce abortion. They just liked the
tangy mint taste of pennyroyal tea until she discovered she was two months
pregnant, and her doctor asked her to avoid caffeine.

Soon after, Jennifer Bilger had a miscarriage.

When he learned the tea may have been to blame, "I was horrified," said
Bilger, a New York science editor who contends supplements don't come with
proper warnings. "There are a lot of very potent herbs out there. You go
into a food co-op, and you don't know what you're getting."

An Associated Press analysis of Food and Drug Administration records
suggests Bilger's experience is not uncommon: The agency has logged more
than 2,500 reports of side effects and 79 deaths associated with dietary
supplements.

About 900 of the illnesses and 44 deaths involved people taking herbal
products that contain ephedrine-like stimulants. Other possible culprits
range from "diet teas" to hormones like DHEA and even high-dose vitamins.

Millions of Americans take dietary supplements, particularly the herbs that
are the fastest-growing segment. They spent $3.2 billion last year.

Supplements promise they'll slow aging, improve memory, clean kidneys,
protect the heart, even prevent cancer.

There is evidence that certain herbs, vitamins and minerals do help. Folic
acid prevents birth defects. Calcium wards off osteoporosis. Many
scientists agree that garlic may help lower cholesterol, ginger calms
nausea and valerian is a mild sleep aid. The National Institutes of Health
are studying whether St. John's wort is an anti-depressant.

But scores of other products have sparse, if any, data to support claims
that even some in the industry call exaggerated. The pills, tonics and teas
sell with little to guide consumers about what actually works or will cause
potential side effects.

"You almost have to be a detective," said Mary Ellen Camire, food science
chief at the University of Maine, who studies natural remedies.

Most such products do not raise safety concerns, said Elizabeth Yetley,
FDA's chief of special nutritional, but the agency has listed 16
supplements as risky.

"You're self-medicating," said Mark Blumenthal of the non-profit American
Botanical Council. "People should learn how to use these products
properly."

The boom in dietary supplements dates to 1994, when Congress shielded them
from most government oversight. They sell without prior certification or
purity inspections.

The 1994 law prohibited supplements from advertising that they directly
treat or prevent disease but allowed more vague claims of "supporting
bodily functions." The FDA is supposed to intercede only if it proves a
supplement poses an unreasonable risk or is marketed as a drug.

The result is a gray area where Vitamin A, for example, can advertise as
"essential for healthy vision" but not to treat eye diseases. Willow bark
con-tains the same chemical as aspirin but doesn't have to carry aspirin's
warning: "Do not give to children or teen-agers with flu or chickenpox
because they could develop deadly Reye's syndrome."

A presidential commission last fall called for changes to clear the
confusion. It urged the FDA to review herbal supplements and let those that
work sell as over-the-counter drugs clearly labeled with proved benefits
and side effects.

The panel also urged that the industry provide studies backing a product's
claims if the consumers request proof, that the FDA act swiftly against
risky supplements, and that makers adopt proper warnings.

Some in industry already art acting. A new American Herb Products
Association handbook classifies the risks of 700 herbs with suggested
warning labels for its 200 member companies