Coltsfoot

Because of the presence of pyrrolizidine alkaloids,
this herb which was regarded as harmless,
is now considered hazardous.
The herb is suggested to be strongly
hepatoxic and potentially carcinogenic in humans,
this has been concluded due to the production
of tumours in experimental animals.
There has only been one reported case
of poisoning from coltsfoot in humans.
A case has been reported of the death of an infant
whose mother drank coltsfoot herbal tea
during her entire pregnancy.
The child was born with severe liver damage caused
by the pyrrolizidine alkaloids from the herb
consumed by the mother.
The child died after 5 weeks from liver failure.
The woman had no symptoms of disease.
This indicates that infants are much more susceptible
to the toxic action of pyrrolizidine alkaloids than adults.
Many other cases are reported of death to infants
using other herbs containing this alkaloid, and it has
been pinpointed as the cause of death.