FDA issues warning against Chinese herbal slimming aid

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a warning against a popular Chinese herbal slimming supplement. The slimming aid has been found to contain banned active drugs, without their being mentioned on the label. In addition, a heart damaging stimulant was also found to be a key ingredient of the product.

The supplement, sold under the name - Que She, is openly being sold to consumers both online as well as in shops. It is marketed as a product containing ‘an all natural blend of Chinese herbs’, which is far from the truth as discovered by the FDA.

Que She not only contains the heart valve damaging stimulant - fenfluramine, but also contains three other potentially harmful drugs - beta-blocker propranolol, prescription weight loss drug sibutramine and stimulant ephedrine. Fenfluramine was banned from the US market in 1997 due to its harmful effects on heart health. Propranolol, can cause asthma in people and also leads to serious heart problems. Sibutramine too has been known to increase the risk of heart attacks in patients with history of heart diseases.

The warning issued by FDA clearly states that the drugs in Que She could "interact with other medications and result in a serious adverse event," besides being harmful to certain patients on their own. The people who have already consumed the product are advised to consult a healthcare professional.

On the web, Que She is known as a compound containing 11 Chinese herbs, which help to suppress appetite in a person and increase the metabolic rate of the body, thus, helping weight in weight reduction. However, after the FDA warning the product has been removed from many websites.