Chinese Herbs Containing Aristolochic Acid Associated with Renal Failure and Urothelial Carcinoma: A Review from Epidemiologic Observations to Causal Inference

Chinese Herbs Containing Aristolochic Acid Associated with Renal Failure and Urothelial Carcinoma: A Review from Epidemiologic Observations to Causal Inference, Hsiao-Yu Yang, Pau-Chung Chen and Jung-Der Wang's 2014 review in BioMed Research International, establishes the causal link between aristolochic acid containing herbal products and kidney failure and urinary tract cancer, including the 1990s Belgian weight loss clinic poisoning cluster that first drew attention to the danger. Its strength is that it is a peer reviewed review tracing the evidence from epidemiological observation through to causal inference. Its limit is that this atlas cites it for that specific documented harm, not as a general verdict on herbal medicine as a whole.