The first article you linked to discusses 7 patients (all of whom had hepatitis B) that had liver failure co-incidental to taking herbal medicines. (39 other patients with hepatitis had liver failure in the absence of taking herbs). Only 1 of those 7 took a medicine with Polygonum, and that medicine was shown to be contaminated with N-nitrosfenfluramine, which the article said "is known to be highly hepatotoxic". So is that a smoking-gun on the dangers of Polygonum? I think not. The other two articles you linked to discussed correlations between taking other patent medicines that included Polygonum and several other herbs. It is true that Polygonum contains anthraquinones, and in larger doses, these can theoretically have a negative effect on the liver. It should also be pointed out that rhubarb, senna and aloe vera latex can contain even more anthraquinones than polygonum. If someone is taking enough Polygonum (or rhubarb) to see a laxative effect, that ~might~ affect their livers - if they are unusually sensitive to the ingredient and have an idiosyncratic reaction, if they take it for a prolonged period of time, or if the liver is already weakened by hepatitis. A variety of anthraquinone-laden senna laxatives are to be found in virtually every drugstore in the United States, and they appear in the OTC medicine section, not in the supplement section. They are widely recommended by doctors. The FDA could take action if it thought that the risk was substantial. Yet they haven't, and none of the mainstream medical websites seem to be concerned about senna and the liver - even though millions of Americans consume it every year. They express justifiable concerns that people not become dependent on such stimulant laxatives, that they seek attention if the problem doesn't resolve itself or if there is severe abdominal pain, etc. But nowhere did I see doctors identifying liver conditions as a counter-indication for using senna, even though it contains the same 'hepatotoxic' chemicals as polygonum. This special caution is reserved for things labeled alternative or foreign. Hmm... There are anthraquinones in vegetables, such as cabbage and lettuce; beans are particularly high in them. And there is rhubarb, which I shall continue eating. Caution might be in order for some individuals, but the overall risk appears to be quite low.

"What did you finally wind up getting?" Well, I ended up getting a Husky open topped tool carrier to try. Size wise, it will have to be tucked inna different spot. My day started off cleaning up the wood shop and my next mission is to take my "cleaned" tools and see what happens. Very skeptical. When I did something similar before, I took a big Stanley tote and totally adapted it. Well, almost. the things I did to it reinforced and allowed it to be organized quite well. The plastic handle would lift alot- let's say a 3 beer case rating. But push down off the handle as you get up once and... So, my thought would be to make one out of cabinet steel. Gives me an excuse to play with the wire feed and cutter I picket up last winter and do something creative for a change. We'll see.... Here is a link that might be useful: Agent orange

Just thought I'd add my two cents (or is it 20 now?) to this..I started on a 2% testosterone cream twice daily ten days ago, and will be using it once a day for the next ten days then switching to at .2% after that as prescribed by my compounding pharmacist. He has recently returned from a conference on Libido and said that for many women a "jump start" is necessary for kicking the libido into gear and finally, after four years of lagging sex drive I am beginning to feel the positive effects of the testosterone....with no negative effects...once again proving that we are indeed all different in our metabolism of all types of things, hormones being only one.......Anyway, I thought I would also share that my pharmacist also says that one of the presenters there at his conference said that in twenty years he has never known there to be a failure of increased libido with the use of DHEA cream - the downside for women looking for a solution "now" to an ongoing problem is that it can take three to six months to take effect....hence the "jump start" idea....but perhaps for those of you with problems with testosterone - ask about the DHEA cream.....the best to you all....Patti

Hello, I have enclosed the following site which maybe helpful to you. They have a great message board there for information etc. You may have to register if you want to post a question etc. This is the site http://www.hystersisters.com/ Hope this helps you.