Drinking Wanglaoji, a kind of herbal tea, is not harmful to the health, medical experts in Guangdong Province said on Tuesday.

"Wanglaoji and its ingredients are absolutely safe for human consumption," Zhang Junxiu, deputy director of the food association of Guangdong Province, said on Tuesday. Wanglaoji, one of the most popular drinks in the country, contains various kinds of herbs, including Xiakucao (Prunella vulgaris L).

Recently, a man in Zhejiang Province, who had been drinking the herbal tea for years, developed a gastric ulcer, which his doctor blamed on Xiakucao, the key ingredient in the herbal tea.

Yan Weixing, deputy director of nutrition and food safety institute of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said on Monday that the Ministry of Health had released a list of edible Chinese medicines.

The list, which includes 87 different Chinese medicines, does not mention Xiakucao.

"Millions of people in China and abroad drink Wanglaoji, but none of them have had any problems," Zhang said.

"In April, 2005, the Ministry of Health had agreed with producers to include Xiakucao in their list of edible additives," Zhang said.

Reading out from a scientific book in front of the media Tuesday, Zhang said Xiakucao was "identified as a kind of wild vegetable by the state's government in 1991".

"We will not change the formula," he said.

Guangdong herbal tea, known as Liang Cha in China, is listed as a national level non-material cultural heritage in the country.

Changing the formula will ruin Guangdong's history and culture, Zhang said.

(China Daily May 13, 2009)