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Birthwort Plant's Dark Side: Contaminated Grain Linked To Kidney Disease And Cancer In Balkan CountriesSeeds from birthwort plant is contaminating the wheat grain in the Balkan region, leading to a devastating kidney disease affecting rural residents in that region. (Credit: Image courtesy of Stony Brook University Medical Center) ScienceDaily (Dec. 9, 2007) — Seeds from birthwort (Aristolochia clematis), a plant which grows in wheat fields in the Balkan region and which has been used throughout Europe and Asia as an herbal remedy for 2000 years, is contaminating the wheat grain, leading to a devastating kidney disease affecting rural residents in...