Death In bottles: Toxic herbal cocktails snuffing life out of Nigerians

Mrs. Mercy Taiwo, 58, experienced severe joint pain and hypertension for a long time. She appeared to have tried every remedy available before venting her frustration to a fellow vendor at Lagos' Mushin Market.

The woman was eager to help and excitedly advertised the great ability of a local herbal concoction called Adimenu to cleanse the body system of all ailments. She also gave the tomato seller her word that once she used the medication, her illness would disappear.

Taiwo, in an interview said that she is perplexed as to why she did not die after consuming the cocktail.

"I told Mama Bose, one of my neighbours, that I haven't been sleeping well at night, and it seems like the medications I was taking to control my high blood pressure weren't working anymore," she exhaled deeply.

"Whenever my blood pressure is elevated, I have trouble falling asleep and am constantly restless. She asked me if I had heard of a herbal mixture known as Adimenu after I complained to her. Yes, I told her, since I have seen vendors pushing the medicine and telling people they can cure any kind of illness for N300.
N300 homicidal substance

I should purchase and take the medication, she instructed me. Using it, she promised, would ensure that I would never again complain about joint pain and high blood pressure.

"After seeing one of the hawkers the following day, I paid N300 for a bottle. "The vendor instructed me to take a spoonful of the mixture and chew it for five minutes before spitting it out," the hawker shared with our correspondent.

The businesswoman would have perished if it weren't for the presence of her 22-year-old daughter on that fateful July 2023 night.
narrow escape

According to the Ondo State native, who shared her unpleasant, "I started shivering and sweating heavily two minutes after I put a spoonful of the mixture in my mouth. I was told to gargle it for five minutes before spitting it out."

The following minute, I had the urge to urinate and hurried to the toilet. It's true—I passed out in the bathroom. I was unconscious when I passed out. My daughter was fanning me as I lay on the floor in a puddle of water after I was resuscitated. She described what happened to me and said that I was discovered unconscious in the bathroom.
"My daughter informed me that after I passed out, I pissed and purged on myself. I would have died that fateful night if it weren't for her prompt intervention.

"She was the one who went to check on me inside the lavatory and set off the alarm, informing the neighbours that I had stayed too long."

"My daughter claims that all of our neighbours gathered and doused me with water while plans were being made to transport me to the hospital. I'm lucky enough to have survived. God saved my life in this way after I took that harmful medication.

Interestingly, Taiwo blamed MamaBose for her experience when she told her about it, even though she hadn't fully recovered from her near-death experience.
Deadly herbal cocktail

Herbal concoctions are prepared from a mixture of plants’ roots, barks and leaves, which are either soaked in water or alcohol.

It is believed that herbal concoctions are commonly taken by indigent people as an alternative to orthodox medicine and as a remedy for all kinds of ailments.

But the reverse is the case with the popular Adimenu, a local herbal mixture made from extracts of selected plants in southwest Nigeria, which studies revealed was processed with tobacco extract and cow urine.

The toxic mixture sells for between N100 to N500 per bottle, depending on the grade, as it ranges from grade one to five according to the sellers, who are mainly herbal medicine dealers.
abrupt breakdown following usage
According to reports on the internet, this lethal herbal mixture caused the deaths of two people in a span of two weeks.

Investigations found that Adimenu herbal mixture users experience vertigo, and there have also been reports of abrupt collapses, hospitalisations, headaches, and stomach issues.

The herbal mixture, which is widely accessible and mostly marketed by vendors of traditional medicines known as "alagbo," has also been shown to be toxic by research.

According to investigations, the Oyo and Osun states in western Nigeria are the primary producers of the herbal mixture found there.
Nonetheless, it has extended to additional geopolitical regions within the nation, such as the North Central region in Kwara State and the North East region in Gombe State (Bauchi Park).
various adverse effects

Our correspondent was informed by Mr. Akeem Lawal, a commercial bus driver, that while Adimenu is helpful in treating his diabetes and back pain, it also causes him to become extremely weak and perspire a lot.

But even though the herbal mixture has serious adverse effects, he continued, "I have diabetes and it works for me." I sometimes avoid driving after taking it because it makes me dizzy. The adverse effects vary depending on the individual. My conductor, for example, will begin purging if he takes it. For others, it might be sweating and throwing up. As a result, the responses differ.
A deadly remedy for every illness

Many people think that Adimenu can treat a variety of conditions, including stroke, severe body pains, stomach problems, and hypertension.

As per our correspondent's information, the lethal medication has been available for purchase for more than two decades and is promoted as a cure for various illnesses such as diabetes, toxicity, and haemorrhaging.

Regretfully, many users of the easily accessible and reasonably priced Adimenu toxic cocktail are no longer with us to share their stories.
A strong smell
After buying two brands of the herbal mixture in tiny bottles at the Mushin Market, our correspondent found that the cost varies between N100 and N300, based on the desired grade and size.

All of the contents are dark in colour and smell strongly, regardless of the brand, size, or price.

The herbal medicine vendor, Mrs. Eunice Akinwale, who gave our correspondent the herbal mixture, saw her furrow her brow in disapproval upon reading the contents and advised her to disregard the recent unfavourable rumours regarding Adimenu.

The reasons behind users' deaths

She was determined to portray the drug as being both highly effective and safe, so she pretended not to care what people thought of the Adimenu herbal mixture. For more than a decade, I have been selling it. It treats all illnesses. The fact that people don't use it as directed is the issue. Although I am aware that it can be harmful if swallowed or taken excessively, it is effective when used as directed.

"Adimenu herbal mixture differs from the agbo (herbal mixture) that people consume in any case. Because of this ignorance, some users have experienced major health issues as a result of using it.

After purchasing it, people should be given instructions on how to use it. They will experience issues if not.
The trader, who appeared to have extensive knowledge of the cocktail, described the preparation of Adimenu as follows: "It is prepared from a native herb but it takes a lot of processes." It was not me who prepared it. They sell it to us after preparing it in the village.

Deadly concoction made with cow dung and tobacco

Adimenu is processed using tobacco extract and cow urine, according to a 2020 study titled "The GC-MS fingerprints of Nicotiana tabacum L. extract and propensity for renal impairment and modulation of serum triglycerides in Wistar rats," which was published in the Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacognosy Research.

According to the researchers, Nicotiana tabacum, a herbaceous plant best known for tobacco, is a key component in the preparation of Adimenu.

In this area, this plant is extracted using cow urine; the resulting product is referred to as "Adimenu" and its users assert that a spoonful of the extract can treat a variety of illnesses.

According to the researchers, "it is therefore imperative to profile the toxicity and/or otherwise of the tobacco plant extracted from cow urine."

The study found that the tobacco extract contained 21 different compounds and assessed the toxicity of smokeless exposure in 40 male Wistar rats.

As anticipated, nicotine dominated the list of compounds found, according to the researchers. Rats may have experienced altered metabolic homeostasis and the activation of adaptive mechanisms as a result of sub-acute exposure to cow urine containing N. tabacum extract, which also negatively affected renal functions.
The results of this study indicate that exposure of male Wistar rats to cow-urine extract of N. tabacum may have altered the serum lipid profile and disrupted rat renal functions.

Accordingly, the research suggests that local customers exercise caution when it comes to how quickly they consume their typical "Adimenu."

An additional study conducted by Raji Akintunde Abdullateef and Hajarat Jummai Abdullahi, published in the EAS Journal of Biotechnology and Genetics, titled "Herbal Mixture (Adimenu) Toxicological Evaluations Using the Allium cepa L Assay," revealed detrimental effects of the herbal mixture on the health of its users.
According to the researchers, even though the mixture is only administered by holding it in the mouth for a short while, users frequently experience vertig