Plants have been used for centuries to create herbal remedies that can cure any sort of ailment. Echinacea is purported to prevent colds, ginkgo is suggested to improve memory and flaxseed lowers cholesterol. More than 100 million Americans consume these herbal supplements, shelling out $5 billion on such products annually. However, most of the time, these herbal remedies are not even herbal at all. In a recent study, Canadian researchers reported that many herbal supplements are not what they claim to be, revealing that most supplements were either diluted, or entirely replaced with completely different fillers. The study’s findings open a necessary discussion on the lack of quality control on herbal supplements in the United States.

Because herbal supplements are not prescribed, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is only responsible for monitoring the safety of the product when it’s on the market, meaning manufacturers can produce and sell their products without FDA approval.

The government has made attempts at regulating herbal supplements — In 1994, the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act, called for “novel ingredients,” meaning ingredients that had not been sold in the United States before 1994, to be registered with the FDA. However, the FDA hasn’t been adamant in requiring manufacturers to register. Out of the 51,000 new supplements on the market, only 170 have registered their ingredients with the FDA.

This lack of FDA oversight allows many manufacturers to sell placebos as herbal supplements. For example, studies have shown that two popular St. John’s wort herbal supplements, used to treat depression, contained no St. John’s wort whatsoever. Rat-her, the capsules in the first bottle were filled with rice, and the capsules in second contained Alexandrian senna, an Egyptian shrub that functions as a powerful laxative.

Poor monitoring also puts consumers’ health at risk. Many herbal supplements contain hazardous ingredients unregistered with the FDA. The state of Hawaii recently reported 29 cases of liver failure due to the herbal weight loss supplement OxyElite Pro. The supplement Echinacea contains traces of the weed Parthenium hysterophorus, an invasive plant native of India and Australia that has been linked to rashes, nausea and intestinal discomfort. Ginkgo bilboa supplements are found to contain fillers with black walnut, which can be extremely dangerous to those with severe nut allergies. Additionally, many herbal supplements contain unregistered wheat ingredients, affecting those with gluten allergies.

If the FDA does not start monitoring such herbal supplements more effectively, manufacturers will continue to profit off of ineffective and harmful products. It is their responsibility to determine whether or not supplements are safe for consumption. Untested herbal supplements are wolves in sheep’s clothing, and the FDA must do a better job at protecting Americans from such a threat.

A version of this article appeared in the Wednesday, Nov. 13 print edition. Lena Rawley is a staff columnist. Email her at [email protected].