“The National Library of Medicine Drugs and Lactation Database (LactMed) has added complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) products. CAM products generally consist of dietary supplements derived from botanicals (herbals), “nutraceuticals” (natural and synthetic nonherbals, such as coenzyme Q10), and related products. The LactMed CAM product records bring together research on these products relevant to breastfeeding. Special emphasis is placed on potential side effects in mothers and infants and on other problems associated with the products. The CAM product records feature a new field for the products’ scientific genus and species names.
LactMed currently contains 19 of an expected 100 CAM products (cabbage, comfrey, lecithin, milk thistle, blessed thistle, stinging nettle, St. John’s wort, garlic, fenugreek, blue cohosh, black cohosh, raspberry leaf, ginger, coenzyme Q10, borage, caraway, coriander, fennel, anise). These records focus on supplements that are frequently used by nursing mothers, including those claiming to stimulate lactation. Future products will include the most common supplements sold in the United States. A complete list of CAM records in the database can be found by using the search term “complementary therapies” in the main LactMed search box.”
Access LactMed at: http://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/sis/htmlgen?LACT