FDA adds product to warning list of supplements with toxic yellow oleander
The Food and Drug Administration has added another supplement to an existing warning because it contains toxic yellow oleander. There were already 28 products on the list.
The implicated products were tested by public health laboratories and found to contain yellow oleander, which is toxic and causes adverse neurological, gastrointestinal and cardiovascular health effects that can be serious or even fatal, according to the FDA warning.
Products are for sale at retailers and online at Amazon, eBay and Etsy, among other sites.
Product labels say they contain tejocote root (Crataegus mexicana) or Brazilian seeds when they actually contain yellow oleander. Yellow oleander is a poisonous plant native to Mexico and Central America and a toxic substance that is of concern to public health officials.
Some companies recalled their products, but others did not. It is therefore crucial that consumers check the affected products at home. For a list of products, Click here.
The FDA advises consumers to stop using and throw away these products.
The FDA advises consumers who have taken any of these products to contact their health care provider immediately, even if the products have not been used recently, so that an appropriate evaluation can be made.
Call 911 or get emergency medical help right away if you or someone you care for experiences side effects from these products.
Consumers can also contact their state poison control center.
In September 2023, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report on several tejocote root products replaced with yellow oleander. Based on this report, the FDA launched an investigation to sample and test additional tejocote root products.
Based on the results of sampling and testing conducted so far by the FDA, the FDA is also concerned that other products marketed as tejocote root—including under other names such as Crataegus mexicana, Raiz de Tejocote, and Mexican hawthorn—may contain yellow oleander.
The FDA is actively working with the third-party platforms on which these products are sold. The FDA investigation is ongoing.
