Death raises questions about herbal supplements

Death raises questions about herbal supplements

Aiya-ornin Adulwiboon, 48, attends funeral rites for her 21-year-old Sataporn Panthong at a temple in Trang on Saturday. The young woman died on June 11 after taking four capsules of a 'ma mui' food supplement. (Photo by Methee Muangkaew)
Aiya-ornin Adulwiboon, 48, attends funeral rites for her 21-year-old Sataporn Panthong at a temple in Trang on Saturday. The young woman died on June 11 after taking four capsules of a 'ma mui' food supplement. (Photo by Methee Muangkaew)

TRANG: The family of a 21-year-old woman who died after taking a <i>Mucuna pruriens</i> supplement, known locally as <i>ma mui</i>, has raised new questions about the safety of food supplements and the reliability of claims made to consumers.

Sataporn Panthong died on June 11 after taking four capsules of Indian Mucuna pruriens seed extract. She suffered an allergic reaction and was admitted to Trang Hospital, where she was pronounced dead shortly afterward.

Her mother Aiya-ornin Adulwiboon, 48, said she and her daughter had been encouraged earlier to become members of a direct-sales business for Indian Mucuna pruriens supplement products. She was told that the supplement would improve her daughter's health and strengthen the body.

Numerous claims for Mucuna pruriens, a leguminous plant sometimes known as velvet bean, are made by promoters of alternative medicine, who say it can treat conditions ranging from Parkinson's disease to erectile dysfunction. It has been used for centuries in Indian ayurvedic medicine.

Ms Aiya-ornin said that after signing up, she and her daughter each received packages of herbal seed extract in capsule form and some breast enhancement supplements.

She said she asked a sales agent whether Mucuna pruriens would have any side effects on those who had epilepsy or seizure disorder, because her daughter had suffered from the condition since she was 10 years old. The agent said the seed extract did not produce any side effects as it was a nutrition product.

After being assured about the safety of the product, she and her daughter each took two capsules in the morning and two more at noon, said the mother. 

Sataporn soon developed swelling on her lips and eyes, and by evening her tongue was bleeding and she had many blisters on her body. Ms Aiya-ornin took her daughter to Trang Hospital where a doctor diagnosed the symptoms as side effects of medication.

Sataporn later developed eye problems and died on June 11. Doctors told her that the young woman had suffered an acute allergic reaction to a herbal product, said the tearful mother. 

Her family decided to bring the body to Songklanagarind Hospital for a post-mortem examination to find out the exact cause of death. Doctors there suggested the family approach Ramathibodi Hospital in Bangkok, which has all the necessary medical equipment, as the case was sensitive and required a thorough examination.

Ms Aiya-ornin said her family would await the autopsy results, which are expected to be known in the next two months.

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