I hold the belief that you should find out about any drug prescribed before taking it.
Whether or not you take it is your choice - I think that your choice should be an
informed choice.
The active ingredient in Tamilflu is oseltamivir phosphate.
This is produced from shikimic acid extracted from the chinese herb known as star anise.
The pharmacutical companies have bought so much of it that the price of star anise has shot through the roof.
Shikimic Acid, China Shikimic Acid products- China Shikimic Acid Manufacturer, supplier
It is in other plant sources but is most concentrated in star anise.
Other plant sources are being investigated -
New source of Tamiflu ingredient could boost production
Because of this shortage they have developed a way of fermenting it from E-coli
Metabolic engineering for microbial production of ...[Metab Eng. 2003] - PubMed Result
There are side effects which some people may just write off as the effects of the virus they are attempting to get rid of.
Oseltamivir - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Japan and South Korea do not use it on persons under age 19.
The ingredients are-
Black iron oxide (E172)
Croscarmellose Sodium
FD and C Blue 2 (indigo carmine, E132)
Gelatin
Oseltamivir
Povidone
Pregelatinised maize starch
Red iron oxide (E172)
Shellac
Sodium Stearyl Fumarate
Talc
Titanium dioxide (E171)
Yellow iron oxide (E172)
If it has help Kelsey getter better more quickly then it was worth it, but then how do you decide whether it helped
maybe she has a good immune system and didn't need it.
Glad she seems to past the worst of it now
