Aristolochic acid – Knowledge and References

Aristolochic acid

Aristolochic acid is a toxic compound found in certain species of the plant Aristolochia, which can cause renal failure and urothelial cancer in individuals who ingest high doses of it. Its toxicity has been observed in patients diagnosed with kidney nephropathy after using herbal mixtures containing Aristolochia species, leading to rapidly progressive fibrosing interstitial nephritis.From: Environmental Medicine [2019], Overview of biological mechanisms of human carcinogens [2019]

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Dicotyledons I

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Published in Donald H. Les, Aquatic Dicotyledons of North America, 2017

Donald H. Les

Numerous species of Aristolochia and Asarum are cultivated as horticultural garden specimens or as indoor ornamentals. Because the species contain aristolochic acid (which is toxic to humans and potentially carcinogenic), they are inedible and unsuitable for medical applications (Lai et al., 2010). Herbal medicines that contain this substance should be avoided.

Overview of biological mechanisms of human carcinogens

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Journal Information

Published in Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part B, 2019

Nicholas Birkett, Mustafa Al-Zoughool, Michael Bird, Robert A. Baan, Jan Zielinski, Daniel Krewski

The cancers associated with a weight-loss regimen of herbal ingredients that contained aristolochic acids directly relate to the mechanism of action of these acids. The toxicity of aristolochic acids I and II has been inferred from effects seen in patients diagnosed with kidney nephropathy after the use of herbal mixtures containing Aristolochia species, which led to rapidly progressive fibrosing interstitial nephritis. The same aristolochic acid-specific DNA adducts identified in experimental animals exposed to aristolochic acid or herbal products containing aristolochic acid were also found in urothelial tissue of aristolochic-acid nephropathy patients, in renal tissue from Balkan endemic nephropathy patients, and in tumor tissue from residents of endemic villages.