Anorectic sibutramine detected in a Chinese herbal drug for weight loss [A short communication from: Forensic Science International

This digital document is a journal article from Forensic Science International, published by Elsevier in 2006. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Abstract:
In the presented case, a young healthy woman had ordered a Chinese herbal medicine, called ''LiDa Dai Dai Hua Jiao Nang'', via internet. She took this product for approximately 1 week, but on the second day she developed severe headache, vertigo and sensation of numbness. After discontinuing medication, symptoms disappeared within 2 days. For identification of the ingredients, a urine sample as well as a sample of the ''LiDa'' capsule were analysed by GC-MS and HPLC-DAD. One major ingredient was detected in urine as well as in the ''LiDa'' capsule and was identified as sibutramine. Quantification by HPLC-DAD yielded 27.4mg sibutramine base, which is approximately two times the amount of the highest authorized single dose available on the pharmaceutical market in Germany. This case demonstrates a common problem with herbal medicines, where adulterations with synthetic therapeutic substances can lead to severe side effects and/or potentially fatal interactions with conventional medicines.