A herbal supplement with a name like ‘The Kind Dragon’ may sound harmless enough, but its ingredients are anything but. It’s one of 55 supplements taken off Russian pharmacy shelves for doing more harm than good to the health of its deceived customers.

Nutritional supplements flooded into Russia after the USSR collapsed. They fitted in with a respect for traditional remedies and home cures. But local leaf and herb preparations made way for exotic supplements from overseas. Now the market is worth a billion dollars a year and growing.

While some have recognised health benefits, the effects of others are at best dubious and at worst harmful. But as they do not claim to be medicines, they are not as rigorously regulated.

“These substances are either narcotic, toxic, carcinogenic or allergenic. Some contain animal organs, heavy metals and toxic plants,” explained Gennady Onishchenko, Russia's Chief Medical Officer.

Authorities have banned many of the worst offenders, but outlets operating on the Internet or by mail order still have stock they are attempting to offload on unwitting clients. RT's correspondent telephoned one distributor, and was told he could have the banned ‘Pau d'Arco’ supplement delivered to him in a couple of days.

Worryingly, the problem is not limited to a few back-alley 'quack' doctors. Qualified health professionals are seduced by lucrative commission, and prescribe dubious alternative treatments to their patients.

When Aleksey and Evgeniya Kraynova's son was diagnosed with asthma, their doctor prescribed a cocktail of dietary supplements containing ground coral and emu oil, all from the same supplier. The bill came to over $US 500. He was not instructed to take any conventional medicines.

Now, they want to start a legal battle against the medical establishment.

“These doctors have forgotten their duty and their ethics. What they are doing is criminal. I don't know how they live with themselves,” said Evgeniya.

Aleksey Vodovozov, who runs a website that debunks bogus treatments, says the problem isn't just the harmful supplements.

“The most dangerous thing is when people who are seriously ill use supplements instead of going to the doctor and taking proper medicine. Often by the time they see the doctor, it is too late,” he said.