Pyrrolizidine alkaloids
Pyrrolizidinal alkaloids are found in various plants, including some Chinese herbs. During metabolism in the liver, very reactive derivatives are formed from pyrrolizidine alkaloids. They have hepatotoxic, mutagenic and carcinogenic properties, which means that they attack the liver, can induce changes in the genome and promote the development of cancer. For the affected products, which are available from LIAN, we check the quantities of pyrrolizidine and monitor the dosage in the prescription in order to comply with the limits imposed by Swissmedic.