A recent report has warned that a popularly known dietary supplement could be very harmful to the kids. Usually, adult persons intake this supplement for the sexual enhancement.
Poison Control centers received 275,000 calls between 2002 to 2012 because of the exposure to all types of dietary supplements. The Central Ohio Poison Center and the Center for Injury Research and Policy reported this fact. Both the centers are associated with the Nationwide Children's Hospital. This report is published recently in the popular Journal of Medical Toxicology.
The researchers have recently pointed out the bark extract of the Yohimbe tree. The extract can be very dangerous for the kids who accidentally ingest it, and interestingly dietary supplements of it are currently available. A major portion of the said calls made to the poison control centers reveals the Yohimbe exposure. Ingestion of the Yohimbe tree's bark extract has shown serious outcome in the children, like kidney failure and abnormal rhythm of the heart beats.
Yohimbe tree is visible in the Western and the central Africa, and bark of this evergreen tree contains a specific chemical substance called yohimbine. Usually, medicine is prepared from this chemical substance, NBC News reported. For many years Yohimbe tree has been playing a significant role in treating leprosy, and fever in Africa, even it is used as an aphrodisiac. But, now consumers can acquire it as dietary supplements.
But, currently, it plays an important role in treating men's erectile dysfunction, and the low libido problem in women. Interestingly, there is not sufficient evidence that supports the effectiveness of the bark extract to treat this problem in men and women. The dried bark is now available as dietary supplements in tablets and capsules, and also in the form of tea.
A little dose of this dietary supplement doesn't work, but excessive dose could cause the toxic problem. Even the safe dosages could create several health problems, like rapid heartbeat, anxiety, dizziness, high blood pressure, nausea, and others. That means overdose is very fatal. The important fact is The Food and Drug Administration has already availed the reports of kidney failure and seizures due to Yohimbe consumption.
Senior author of this current study, Dr. Gary Smith, opines that many people think dietary supplements are safe and maintain the efficacy. But, the truth is dietary supplements don't need any clinical trials because they are not considered as drugs. That is why these supplements don't need any FDA approval prior to the sale. Dr. Gary Smith is also the Director of the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children's.
The dietary supplements prepared for the therapeutic use only need prior approval of the FDA. According to Popular Science, FDA doesn't evaluate the safety or efficacy of a dietary supplement. It is the responsibility of the dietary supplements' manufacturers to make sure that their product should be safe and simultaneously effective.
The manufacturers should also be very careful to ensure that the supplements are not at all contaminated. The current study reveals 1,818 cases that reported Yohimbe exposure during the past ten years, and among them, 512 cases were very serious. The concerning fact is a major portion of the exposure that is 78 percent occurred in the kids, though they were mostly unintentional.
Most of the children of the supplement exposures are less than six years old. Among them, 3.2 percent children got treatment in the medical care unit with the death report of one child. Apart from this, 1,3 percent were serious. In a word, the FDA regulation is necessary for the Yohimbe and also for other various dietary supplements or the energy supplements.