News update and forthcoming events / Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice 16 (2010) 174e179

175

Use of star anise tea in swine ue prevention and safety concerns

Tahir Mehmood Khan a, b
a
b

College of Clinical Pharmacy, King Faisal University, P.O. Box 400, Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia
Department of Pharmacy, Island College of Technology, Balik Pulau 11000, Penang, Malaysia

TO THE EDITOR: Herbal and traditional therapies are widely

accepted among Malaysians to cure certain minor aliments and to
maintain/improve the health status.1,2 Two reasons can be associated with this attitude; one the impact of Chinese community
toward the use of herbal and traditional therapies and the second is
the easy access to herbal products.1 With these growing practices
and interests in self-medication, the public must be corrected of
their misconception regarding health supplements, particularly
those claimed to be the natural remedies for various medical
disorders.2 Malaysians attitudes towards the use of herbal product
become more noticeable with the diagnosis of the rst case of
swine ue (May, 2009). Initially it was not a serious issue for
majority. However, on August 11 2009, with an increase in the
number of cases and death rates it becomes an alarming situation
for the community and public health sector. In response to this
endemic public health campaigns were organized to aware the
community of the preventive measures to be adopted. At one public
awareness forum the spokesman has stanchly recommended the
use of Star Anise Tea [Chinese star anise (scientic name Illicium
verum)] as a preventive and protective measure for swine u
endemic (Fig. 1). Star Anise is a commonly used spice in Malaysian
cuisines and is the main plant source for Tamiu. Certain issues
regarding the dosage and possible side affects of the star anise were
not discussed by the spokesmen. There are some issues that should
be considered before encouraging the public towards the use of Star
Anise Tea. Among these issues the most important are the proper
dose3 and type of star anise used to make the tea. Worldwide, Star
Anise is available in two forms one is Chinese star anise and the
second is Japanese star anise (Illicium anisatum). Both these species
look same on physical grounds however; can be identied by
adopting the laboratory methods. Recently, concerns have been
raised about the adulteration of Chinese star anise with Japanese
star anise.4 Adverse neurological reactions are often observed with
the administration of star anise tea among infants.5 In addition,
evidence is there that prove that Chinese star anise has been
contaminated with Japanese star anise.4,5 In Malaysia people are
using star anise tea as a preventive measure for swine ue without
knowing the possibility of adulteration, exact information about
dose and possible complications and side affects of star anise.
Moreover, there is a risk that may be parents administer star anise
tea to infants/children as a preventive measure from swine ue and
this possibly will result in neurological adverse event associated
with its use. It is therefore recommended for the health awareness
team to develop a positive attitude among the community to seek

E-mail address: tahir.pks@gmail.com

doi:10.1016/j.ctcp.2010.05.003

Fig. 1.

help from the qualied health care provider for the appropriate
diagnosis and treatment of swine u. Furthermore the use of star
anise tea should be discouraged over the use of evidence-based
medicines like Tamiu.

References
1. Hassali MA, Khan TM, Shae AA, Nazir M. Public knowledge about herbal
beverages in Penang, Malaysia. AMJ 2009 2009;1(6):1e12. doi:10.4066/AMJ.
71.
2. Hussain SH. Potential risks of health supplements e self-medication practices
and the need for public health education. International Journal of Risk & Safety in
Medicine 1999;12:167e71. 167.
3. Ruthy M. Parker, Michael S. Wolf, Kara L. Jacobson, Alastair JJ. Risk of confusion
in the dosing of tamiu oral suspension in children. NEJM 2009;361
(19):1912e3.
4. Ize-Ludlow Diego, Ragone Sean, Bruck Isaac S, Bernstein Jeffrey N,
Duchowny Michael, Barbara M. Garcia pea neurotoxicities in infants seen with
the consumption of star anise tea. PEDIATRICS November 2004;114(No. 5):
e653e6. doi:10.1542/peds.2004-0058.
5. Herbal Science Group Claries Safety issue on Star Anise tea, http://cms.
herbalgram.org/press/staranisetea.html; 2003.