Rampant adulteration

The report on the adulteration in traditional medicines comes as no surprise as manufacturers are trying to cash in on the spurt of awareness about herbal medicines (‘Sunday Special’ – “DNA barcodes reveal adulteration in traditional medicines”, October 15). The huge variety of plants and herbs whose ‘components’ traditional medicine makers claim to have added in their medicines are rare and not regularly available for round-the-year mass production. One wonders whether these medicines undergo stringent research and development testing. It is better to avoid self-medication by heeding hearsay and false advertising of those who manufacture these adulterated traditional medicines.

A. Balakrishnan,

Chennai