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Yellow Oleander Seed, or “Codo de Fraile” (Thevetia spp.): A Review of Its Potential Toxicity as a Purported Weight-Loss Supplement

ABSTRACT The Dietary Supplements and Health Education Act (DSHEA), passed by the United States Congress in October of 1994, defines herbal products as nutritional supplements, not medications. This opened the market for diverse products made from plants, including teas, extracts, essential oils, and syrups. Mexico and the United States share an extensive border, where diverse herbal products are available to the public without a medical prescription. Research undertaken in the neighboring cities of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, and El Paso, Texas, USA, shows the use of herbs is higher in this border area compared to the rest of the United States. A portion of the population is still under the erroneous impression that “natural” products are completely safe to use and therefore lack side effects. We review the dangers of ingesting the toxic seed of Thevetia spp. (family Apocynaceae), commonly known as “yellow oleander” or “codo de fraile,” misleadingly advertised on the Internet as an effective and safe dietary supplement for weight loss. Lack of proper quality control regarding herbs generates a great variability in the quantity and quality of the products' content. Herb–drug interactions occur between some herbal products and certain prescription pharmaceuticals. Certain herbs recently introduced into the U.S. market may not have been previously tested adequately for purity, safety, and efficacy. Due to the lack of reliable clinical data regarding the safe use of various herbal products currently available, the public should be made aware regarding the possible health hazards of using certain herbs for therapeutic purposes. The potentially fatal toxicity of yellow oleander seed is confirmed by cases reported from various countries, while the purported benefits of using it for weight loss have not been evaluated by any known clinical trials. For this reason, the use of yellow oleander seed as a dietary supplement should be avoided.