Safety Information

Alert communication

Recent cases of lead poisoning with Ayurvedic Medicines

4 March 2024

In the last few months, there have been 8 notified cases of lead poisoning in people taking Ayurvedic medicines in New Zealand. Some of these people have been extremely unwell, with symptoms including abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting and constipation.

Investigations are underway to identify the products concerned and where they were obtained. We will update this alert as further information becomes available.

Advice for consumers and caregivers
Information for healthcare professionals
Products affected
Further information
Useful links
Useful links for healthcare professionals

Advice for consumers and caregivers

Only purchase Ayurvedic medicines where the ingredients are clearly labelled and come from a reputable source.
If you become unwell after taking an Ayurvedic medicine, seek urgent advice from your doctor or pharmacist. Help is also available by calling Healthline on 0800 611 116.
Symptoms of lead poisoning can include abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, constipation and, in severe cases, seizures.

Information for healthcare professionals

Ask patients who present with unexplained symptoms about their use of natural health products, including Ayurvedic medicines.
Consider whether your patient may have lead poisoning if they are using Ayurvedic medicine.
Call the National Poisons Centre (0800 764 766) if you think a patient may have lead poisoning.
If possible, collect a sample of the suspect product for testing by Medsafe (contact medclearance@health.govt.nz for advice and instructions about forwarding the sample).

Products affected

Ayurvedic medicine is a type of traditional Indian medicine. There are no approved Ayurvedic medicines in New Zealand.

Medsafe has received samples of some of the products identified in the lead poisoning cases (Figure 1). These are small circular flat tablets of approximately 7mm in diameter and coloured black, dark grey or dark brown. These tablets were unnamed, unpackaged and unlabelled. They were reported to have been brought into the country by a traveller who purchased them in India. Laboratory testing identified very toxic levels of lead.

Figure 1: Images of products that were tested and found to contain toxic levels of lead

Picture of Ayurvedic Medicines with Lead