Pada tahun 2000 The U.S.

Food and Drug Administration has issued a warning for consumers to

stop using dietary products that contain aristolochic acid, found primarily in a Chinese herb.
Consumption of products containing the botanical ingredient has been associated with permanent
kidney damage; the product has also been linked to certain types of cancer, most often occurring
in the urinary tract.
A study conducted in Belgium reported that among 39 patients with end-stage renal failure from
the original Belgian cohort, who had agreed to undergo prophylactic surgery, there were 18 cases
of urothelial carcinoma. All tissue samples analyzed contained aristolochic acid-related DNA
adducts. The authors concluded that "our data suggest that aristolochia toxins (aristolochic acids
and also possibly other derivatives) cause renal disease and urothelial cancer. [Nortier, JL et al.
Urothelial carcinoma associated with the use of a Chinese herb (Aristolochia fangchi). N Engl J
Med 2000; 342:1686-92]
Sumber:
http://www.fda.gov/Food/RecallsOutbreaksEmergencies/SafetyAlertsAdvisories/ucm096374.ht
m

Sebuah penelitian di Brussels tahun 1992-93, untuk pertama kalinya hampir 100 pasien wanita
muda mengalami gagal ginjal progresif setelah konsumsi obat pelangsing herbal China yang
mengandung Aristolochia mansburiensis yang kaya asam aristolochic.
1
Sebuah review dari 58
kasus yang dilakukan oleh Chen et al. menyatakan tiga keluaran dari nephrotoxicity akibat herbal
cina yang mengandung asam aristlochic: 1) acute aristolochic acid nephropathy (AAN) (7%)
dengan nekrosis tubulat akut dan gagal ginjal akut, 2) Tubular dysfunctional AAN (12%) yang
dikarakteristikan dengan degradasi tubular dan atropi. Asidosis tubular renal dan/atau sindrom
Fanconi, 3) AAN kronik (81%) dengan fibrosis interstitial renal (tampilan: infiltrat sel yang
jarang-jarang) dan gagal ginjal progresif secara kronik.
2


Sumber:
1. Vanherweghem JL, Depierreux M, Tielemans C, et al. Rapidly progressive interstitial
renal fibrosis in young women: association with slimming regimen including Chinese
herbs. Lancet. 1993;341:387-91.
2. Chen W, Chen Y, Li A. The clinical and pathological manisfestation of aristolochic acid
nephropathy the report of 58 cases. Zhonghua Yi Xue Za Zhi. 2001;25:1101-5.

Berdasarkan informasi diatas konsumsi obat-obat diet herbal terutama yang mengandung asam
aristolochic dapat menyebabkan gangguan pada ginjal dari gagal ginjal akut sampai kronis. FDA
juga sudah melarang penggunaan obat diet herbal yang mengandung senyawa tersebut.