MOST Chinese know that ginger soup can help ease cold symptoms, and plantain tea can ease dryness. However, few people know herbs may be very dangerous to the human body, if they are not used properly.

Herbs are sold throughout Shenzhen, especially in village stalls. The stalls are very simple --- sometimes just a piece of plastic. Various kinds of herbs, such as plantain,,  houttuynia cordata , (a herb that reduces inflammation), and Chinese lobelia , (a detoxifying herb) are displayed on the stalls. A small bunch of herbs is usually sold at only 0.5 yuan (US$0.06).

One herb seller, a woman surnamed Liu, from Heyuan, said most of her customers were middle-aged or elderly. "Usually they choose herbs by themselves, but sometimes they ask for my suggestions," Liu said.

As a veteran herb seller, Liu has a lot of experience in choosing the right herbs for her ailing customers. However, some herb sellers may steer customers the wrong way.

A journalist with the Daily Sunshine recently posed as a herb customer. She asked the seller to suggest some herbs to ease her sore throat and headache. After thinking for a while, the seller suggested plantain, houttuynia and imperata root.

When asked by the journalist if the herbs were poisonous, the seller said impatiently: "I've never heard of anybody being killed by herbs." It turned out that the three herbs could not ease headache and coughing, and the herb vendor was actually a bookseller who happened to be taking care of a friend's stand.

It is not illegal to sell herbs in markets, however, experts said many herbs have side effects. Forty out of the 2,000 herbs recorded in the Pharmacopoeia of People's Republic of China, a book about Chinese herbs, were extremely poisonous, it said.

Herbs must be cooked very carefully, with special attention paid to timing and the mixture of herbs. If a herb is cooked incorrectly or mixed up with a conflicting herb, the mixture could cause damage to liver, kidney, and other organs, said experts.
 

Editor: Wings