KPC Products Inc.
(US Main Office)
16 Goddard
Irvine, CA 92618
Tel: 949-727-4000
Orders: 800-KPC-8188
Fax: 949-727-3577

In the Chinese herbal ingredient industry, stories circulate widely about instances of misidentified products and mistakenly substituted products. Given the great breadth and variety of Chinese herbal ingredients, confusions arise when a single herbal ingredient is labeled with multiple names or, inversely, separate herbs are given the same name. Occasionally, herbs that are similar in appearance are substituted for one another or, also common, herbs are simply misidentified by an herbalist. An herb’s authenticity is directly linked to the safety and efficacy of a prescription. In 1993, in Belgium, a weight loss clinic incorrectly administered aristolochia westlandi (guang fang ji) in combination with other stimulants. As a result, 70 people suffered kidney failure. People believed the kidney failure to be linked to the presence of aristolochic acid (AA), the main chemical component of guang fang ji.

The Aristolochiaceae plant family is scattered across tropical and Asian tropical areas. According to a report, the entire world has just 200 species. Some of the species are commonly used Chinese herbs such as Guang Fang ji (Aristolochia fangchi), Aristolochia mansuriensis, Aristolochia contorta bunge or the Aristolochia debilis Sieboldet Zuccarini ripened plant). Tian Xianteng is AA’s stem part and Qing Mu Xiang is its dried root.

Aristolochic acid can increase immune powers, prevent tumors and it is already in development for clinical use. However, reports indicate that AA is capable of mutating into a carcinogen. It is believed to be linked with the Belgian “Chinese herbs Nephropathy” (CHN) incident, possibly being the cause of AA nephropathy, acute fibrosis in the kidney area and even urinary tract cancer. Because of these alarming reports, AA has been deemed a toxic substance.

We performTLC analysis                                                      
and HPLC analysis to                 
distinguish the authentic herbs from the common substitutes and
maintain an inflexible, uniform policy forbidding          
any ingredients tainted  
with the presence of aristolochic acid.           

Since 1992, KP has promoted research and vigilance towards the serious dangers that erroneous identification of herbs and the sale of inauthentic herbal products on the market present to human health. KP has devoted the last decade to informing people of the detrimental effects of misidentified herbs and has already found more than 20 misidentified herbal ingredients on the market. KP’s herbal factory adopts a serious attitude towards its inspection standards regarding AA. Aristolochic acid and its stem part are not used in the factory whatsoever. KP is especially vigilant toward those herbs that can be easily confused with AA - Stephania tetrandra, clemantis armandi Franch, Vladimiria souliei. We perform TLC analysis and HPLC analysis to distinguish the authentic herbs from the common substitutes. We manufacture herbs without aristolochic acid according to the techniques of the Chinese medicinal dictionary and maintain an inflexible, uniform policy forbidding any ingredients tainted with the presence of aristolochic acid.