Question - The cited article notes “Human populations living in the Balkan countries where endemic Balkan neuropathy and kidney cancer are high, and human populations in China using herbal remedies associated with kidney cancer, were shown to sustain actual DNA damage. What chemical has been determined to be the cause of DNA damage in these cohorts?
Answer- These cohorts were shown to have suffered DNA damage cause by the chemical aristolochic acid found in a variety of plants and herbals. (Poirier MC. Linking DNA adduct formation and human cancer risk in chemical carcinogenesis. 2016 Env Molecular Mutagenesis 57:499-507)
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