An official alert over Cimicifuga racemosa was issued by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency yesterday and warnings will soon appear on all products containing the plant. Black cohosh is also sold as black snake root, rattle snake root and squaw root in a market worth £4.6 million a year.

Black cohosh, which is sold as drops or capsules that cost between £5 and £10 for a month’s supply, has been available in Britain for more than 20 years. Its use has increased since 2003, when a study linked HRT with higher risks of heart attack, stroke and breast cancer.

Professor Philip Routledge, chairman of the Herbal Medicines Advisory Committee, said that the data underlined a link between black cohosh and a risk of liver disorders. “This is rare, but can be serious,” he said. Anyone who has suffered a liver complaint or any other serious health problem was advised to consult their GP before taking it.

People already taking the remedy are not being told to stop, but should seek medical advice if they suffer from unexplained nausea, flu-like symptoms, abdominal pain, dark urine or a yellowing of the eye or skin.

The agency said: “If women like the herb and are happy to take it and have experienced no adverse reaction then it is fine for them to keep doing so. But anyone with symptoms of possible liver disorder should seek medical advice.”

• The number of drink-related deaths among women aged 35-54 more than doubled in the past decade, according to figures released today.

  The death rate for women in this age group rose from 512 in 1991 to 1,171 in 2004, according to the Office for National Statistics. Overall, alcohol-related death rates are much higher for men than women. In 2004 the number of men aged 35-54 whose death was related to alcohol was 2,367.

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