Are herbal stress pills safe from toxic metals?
Heavy Metal Contamination in Adaptogenic Herbal Dietary Supplements: Experimental, Assessment and Regulatory Safety Perspectives
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Tablets were more contaminated than raw dried herbs, especially with lead.
Consumers often believe processing improves purity, but here, tablets showed the worst contamination—suggesting manufacturing adds contamination rather than removing it.
Practical Takeaways
Avoid Schisandra supplements, especially tablets, until independent testing confirms safety.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Tablets were more contaminated than raw dried herbs, especially with lead.
Consumers often believe processing improves purity, but here, tablets showed the worst contamination—suggesting manufacturing adds contamination rather than removing it.
Practical Takeaways
Avoid Schisandra supplements, especially tablets, until independent testing confirms safety.
Publication
Journal
Biology
Year
2025
Authors
Agata Jasińska-Balwierz, Patrycja Krypel, P. Świsłowski, M. Rajfur, R. Balwierz, Wioletta Ochędzan-Siodłak
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Claims (6)
Some herbal supplements sold in Poland might be contaminated with dangerous levels of lead and nickel — heavy metals that can harm your brain and even cause cancer — and most of the ones tested weren't safe.
Those adaptogen pills you take might have way more lead in them than the raw herbs they're made from — some even go over the safety limit by more than double. The way they're made could be adding extra contamination.
Dietary supplements aren't closely checked by regulators, and because no one independently tests them, you can't always be sure what's in the bottle—some might even have harmful stuff.
Herbal supplements made from plants grown in India have way more nickel in them—more than double—compared to similar supplements made from plants grown in China, and that difference is probably not just by chance.
Schisandra supplements — whether in dried fruit or pill form — are the most contaminated adaptogens tested, with lead and nickel levels way over safety limits, making them riskier than other popular adaptogens.