Qu Feng Huo Luo Dan: FDA warns seller over hidden steroid in herbal arthritis remedy

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a warning letter to New Green Nutrition Inc., a herbal products seller in Flushing, New York, after its laboratory found the prescription steroid dexamethasone in Qu Feng Huo Luo Dan, a traditional-style remedy marketed online for arthritis and joint pain. The letter is dated Monday, 26 October 2026 and was made public on Tuesday, 3 November 2026. The FDA says the product's label does not declare the steroid, and it has also flagged three other products from the company, including Japan Reishi Mushroom Powder and Shu Jin Huo Xue Wan, for drug claims that supplements may not make.

Dexamethasone is a powerful steroid medicine used to reduce inflammation. In a doctor's hands it has real uses, but taken without supervision it can cause harm. The FDA's notice says it can raise blood sugar, damage muscles and cause mental health problems. A person with arthritis who takes a "herbal" remedy and feels quick relief may in fact be responding to the steroid, not the herbs, and may keep taking it for months without knowing.

That is why the FDA's advice on stopping is careful. The agency tells people who have been using the product to consult a health care professional before they stop, so that the risks of stopping a steroid can be judged by a clinician. Buyers who thought they were taking only herbs would have no reason to know this.

The case also shows a familiar problem with health products sold online. Remedies presented in the language of traditional medicine, with herbal names and claims of natural relief for joint pain, can reach buyers anywhere without a doctor or pharmacist in between. In this case, the consumer alert came in August, the website review in September and the formal warning letter in late October, so the product was on sale online while the regulatory steps moved forward.

For readers of traditional systems such as Ayurveda, Unani and Siddha, the lesson is about evidence and labels rather than about any one tradition. A product's name and the herbs on its label do not prove what is inside it; only testing does. The FDA's letter makes the same distinction: products promoted with claims to affect the body's functions were called unapproved new drugs, and the one hiding a prescription medicine was called misbranded, however traditional its name.

Peepals timeline: On 25 August 2026, the FDA publicly warned consumers that Qu Feng Huo Luo Dan contained hidden dexamethasone. In September 2026, it reviewed New Green Nutrition's website. On 26 October 2026, it sent the company a warning letter covering four products, and on 3 November 2026 the letter was published. The gap between the consumer alert and the warning letter was 62 days, by our count from the reported dates.

Short-term: Buyers in the US who have Qu Feng Huo Luo Dan at home have been told by the FDA not to use it and to speak to a health professional before stopping. The company must answer the agency within 15 business days.

Long-term: The case adds to the FDA's public list of pain and arthritis products found with hidden drug ingredients, a list buyers and pharmacists can check before trusting a remedy sold online.

Who is affected: People who bought Qu Feng Huo Luo Dan or the other named products, especially those with arthritis or joint pain; New Green Nutrition Inc.; doctors and pharmacists who may see patients using such products; and sellers of herbal remedies online.

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