Products sold online as tejocote root for weight loss have been found to contain yellow oleander, a poisonous plant native to Mexico and Central America, and the Food and Drug Administration keeps adding brands to its warning list. The most recent update, dated September 22, 2026, covers items sold through eBay, Amazon and other websites.
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The agency’s message to anyone holding one of these bottles is blunt: stop using it and throw it out. The same list also flags two products that hide pharmaceutical drugs, which adds a second layer of risk for buyers who thought they were taking a herbal supplement.
What FDA found in the tejocote products
In its warning, FDA says products labeled as tejocote (Crataegus mexicana) root or Brazil seed are adulterated because they contain yellow oleander, Thevetia peruviana, instead of the labeled ingredients. The agency says yellow oleander can cause neurologic, gastrointestinal and cardiovascular adverse health effects that “may be severe, or even fatal.” FDA also says its surveillance has widened to other botanical weight-loss products, and that some supplements not labeled as containing tejocote may also contain the plant.
The warning is not limited to one seller. The table behind it lists products from many firms across several online channels, including eBay, Amazon, Etsy and standalone websites. Some firms have announced recalls, some declined, some could not be reached, and in a number of cases the platform removed the listing. FDA says it is working with the third-party platforms and that more products may be added as testing continues.
People have been harmed. FDA says it continues to receive adverse event reports tied to the products in the alert, and an April 2024 update recorded reports that included one serious adverse event linked to Green ELV Nutrition’s Elv Control Herbal Supplement capsules. The listing also shows how scattered the supply chain is: one seller recalled about 280 bottles of an Alipotec tejocote product sold on Amazon, while others declined to recall and had their listings pulled.
The September additions and the hidden drugs
The latest round, added on September 17, includes two Niwali products from Global Mix, Inc., and a fiber supplement called Easy Forte Natural Fiber sold on Amazon. According to the Global Mix recall notice, published September 21, FDA collected samples on June 19, 2026, and its analysis found the products appear to be yellow oleander, not tejocote. The recalled lots, RM500925 for capsules and RM400925 for pieces, were sold on eBay and Everymarket.com, and the company reports only five units sold and no injuries reported to it.
Two other products are worse in a different way. FDA’s notice on D Magic Plus, dated August 12, 2026, says laboratory analysis found diclofenac, an anti-inflammatory painkiller, plus neriifolin and thevetin B from the yellow oleander plant, none of them on the label. The agency warns that such painkillers can raise the risk of heart attack, stroke and serious stomach bleeding. The warning list says B. Magi contains phenolphthalein, which FDA says can cause life-threatening reactions or raise cancer risk.
A 2022 New Jersey case and the CDC report that followed
None of this is new. A September 2023 report in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report described a 23-month-old child in New Jersey who developed nausea and vomiting on September 8, 2022, after eating tejocote root the mother bought for weight loss. Doctors found a slow heart rate, irregular beats and low blood pressure, and the child’s heart tracing and blood pressure normalized after two doses of digoxin-specific antibody fragments.
New Jersey poison center staff then bought 10 products labeled as tejocote online. Nine tested positive for yellow oleander and negative for tejocote root. The authors warned that standard digoxin blood tests are not reliable for detecting thevetin B, so a patient with heart poisoning can look misleadingly normal on a routine screen. Doctors, the report said, should ask patients with suspected cardiac glycoside toxicity about weight loss supplements, including products sold as Nuez de la India.
Questions the recalls leave unresolved
A recall helps only if buyers learn of it, and several firms on the list have not responded to the agency at all. The Global Mix notice says the marketplaces do not release buyer contact details, so the company cannot notify purchasers directly. A SiluetaYa recall of an 8-ounce tejocote root product likewise came from FDA sampling, and the company reported no illnesses.
FDA tells consumers who have taken any of the listed products to contact a health care provider immediately, even if the product was not used recently, and to call 911 for serious side effects. Poison control centers can also advise. Because the agency says other weight-loss botanicals may be affected, a label that says tejocote is no longer the only warning sign.
This article was produced with the assistance of AI and reviewed by Morning Overview editors prior to publication.
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