Tea made from Chinese star anise - a traditional treatment for colic - should not be given to infants, because contaminants may have toxic neurologic effects, physicians report in the journal Pediatrics.

They say the possibility that infants have been given of star anise should be considered when they have “unexplained irritability, vomiting, and seizures, particularly in the Latino population,” Dr. Barbara M. Garcia Pena and her colleagues advise.

Chinese star anise tea is frequently used by Caribbean and Latino peoples to treat infant colic, the authors explain. However, it contains low doses of a toxic compound called veranisatin.

There have also been reports around the world of contamination of Chinese star anise with the Japanese form, which contains more potent toxins.

Pena’s team treated seven infants with signs of star anise intoxication over a two-year period at Miami Children’s Hospital. The babies, ages 2 to 12 months, had seizures, jitteriness, irritability, vomiting, and jerky movements. All had been given star anise tea at least once.

Laboratory tests and x-ray studies were normal and all of the young patients recovered within 48 hours.

Samples of the herbs used to make the teas were analyzed and several showed high levels of toxic compounds.

“On the basis of the results of our chemical analysis, the symptoms that we describe in this report may be attributed to an overdose of (Chinese star anise), contamination with (the Japanese form), or a combination of the two,” the authors conclude.

SOURCE: Pediatrics, November 2004.