Dicumarol content in alcoholic herb elixirs: one of the factors at risk induced IVKD-I

Nine medicinal plants known to be the ingredients of the traditional herbal medicinal elixir, and seven popular commercial alcoholic herb elixirs were investigated for the content of dicumarol by using high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) and thin layer chromatography (TLC) methods. Umbelliferae (Conioselinum Univittatum) were the only medicinal plants found to contain dicumarol 0.04 mg/dl. Dicumarol content was also found in three out of seven brands of commercial alcoholic herb elixirs with the concentration of 0.58, 1.86 and 6.00 mg/dl. These findings indicated that the traditional herbal medicinal elixirs containing dicumarol in varying amount may play a role in inducing bleeding diathesis in breast-fed infants of mothers known to consume the elixir.