The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has cautioned Nigerians not to buy herbal mixtures from street hawkers.
Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, the director general of NAFDAC, said that if the herbal concoctions are maintained for four to five days, they begin to proliferate bacteria.
She further stated that even though the herbal combinations have certain medical benefits, the bacteria can still be harmful to human health and potentially kill the person if taken.
However, she said, proper research is needed to determine how much people can eat of some herbal remedies.
She said:
“For the liquid herbal concoctions, especially after four or five days, it starts growing bacteria.
“Even if the herbal concoction has some medicinal properties, the bacteria will kill the person first that is taking it.
“Many of our herbal medicines work but we have to do a lot of research to show how they work, at what level are we supposed to be taking them so that it will not get to the toxicity level.”
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