CHAPTER 11 - The Best Control 2

epellent that contains only natural materials and not any chemicals. The leaves of the plant Vitex negundo(commonly known as sambhalu) are dried and powdered. About 100 grammes of broken rice and one litre ofwater is cooked and left to cool. This solution is mixed with the powdered leaves. Sugarcane waste (baggase)and charcoal powder is added to this dough, which can be made into different shapes and then again dried inthe sun. According to Bhuvaneswaramma, the effect of the repellent can ward off mosquitoes for around sevenhours. He adds that since the materials used are available locally, villagers can themselves prepare this repellent.Herbal Remedies - Most have been used successfully and safely and economically for over 4000years, but:ESSAY; Diet Supplements and Safety: Some Disquieting DataBy DAN HURLEYPublished: January 16, 2007Since 1983, the American Association of Poison Control Centers has kept statistics on reports of poisonings forevery type of substance, including dietary supplements. That first year, there were 14,006 reports related to theuse of vitamins, minerals, essential oils — which are not classified as a dietary supplement but are widely soldin supplement stores for a variety of uses — and homeopathic remedies. Herbs were not categorized that year,because they were rarely used then.By 2005, the number had grown ninefold: 125,595 incidents were reported related to vitamins, minerals, essentialoils, herbs and other supplements. In all, over the 23-year span, the association — a national organizationof state and local poison centers — has received more than 1.6 million reports of exposures to such products,including 251,799 that were serious enough to require hospitalization. From 1983 to 2004 there were 230 reporteddeaths from supplements, with the yearly numbers rising from 4 in 1994, the year the supplement billpassed, to a record 27 in 2005.The number of deaths may be far higher. In April 2004, the Food and Drug Administration said it had received260 reports of deaths associated with herbs and other nonvitamin, nonmineral supplements since 1989. But anunpublished study prepared in 2000 for the agency by Dr. Alexander M. Walker, then the chairman of epidemiologyat the Harvard School of Public Health, concluded: “A best estimate is that less than 1 percent of seriousadverse events caused by dietary supplements is reported to the F.D.A. The true proportion may well be smallerby an order of magnitude or more.”The supplements with the most exposures in 2005, according to the poison control centers, were ordinary vitamins,accounting for nearly half of all the reports received that year, 62,446, including 1 death. Minerals werelinked to about half as many total reports, 32,098, but that number included 13 deaths. Herbs and other specialtyproducts accounted for still fewer total reports, 23,769, but 13 deaths. Essential oils were linked to 7,282 reportsand no deaths.Among herbs and other specialty products, melatonin and homeopathic products — prepared from minusculeamounts of substances as diverse as salt and snake venom — had the most reports of exposures in 2005. Thepoison centers received 2,001 reports of exposures to melatonin, marketed as a sleep aid, including 535 hospitalizationsand 4 deaths. Homeopathic products, often marketed as being safe because the doses are very low,were linked to 7,049 exposures, including 564 hospitalizations and 2 deaths.But most other types of herbs and specialty supplements also appear in the annual report. In 2005, the poisoncenters received 203 reports of exposures to St. John’s wort, including 79 hospitalizations and 1 death. Glucosamine,with or without chondroitin, was linked to 813 exposures, including 108 hospitalizations and 1 death.Echinacea was linked to 483 exposures, including 55 hospitalizations, 1 of them considered life-threatening.Saw palmetto was not listed on the report.Injuries to children under 6 account for nearly three-quarters of all the reports of exposures to dietary supplements,according to the poison centers. In 2005, the most recent year for which figures are available, 48,604children suffered exposures to vitamins alone, the ninth-largest category of substances associated with exposuresin that age group.Major medical groups and government agencies do not generally recommend vitamin or mineral supplements401