Positives

• A patient with late-stage neuroborreliosis reported sustained relief from ocular and facial-nerve symptoms while taking 1/2 tsp of stephania tincture three times daily long-term Phoenix Rising.
  
  
• Patients who could not tolerate the rest of the Buhner core reported stephania was the best-tolerated substitute, easing inflammation without the GI flare they got from knotweed Phoenix Rising.
  
  

Negatives

• Patients have suffered renal failure and required dialysis after taking stephania products that turned out to be adulterated with Aristolochia, a documented Chinese-herbs nephropathy outbreak PMC.
  
  

Hurdles & Side Effects

• Patients have to insist on third-party certificates of analysis to confirm the species and rule out aristolochic-acid contamination, a step many described as difficult to verify with overseas suppliers PMC.