HIWU warns horsemen again about Yunnan Baiyao herbal products

Keep Yunnan Baiyao out of the barn if you want to stay out of a medication case. HIWU warned horsemen again that products labeled Yunnan Baiyao, Yunnan Paiyao and Baiyao remain a compliance risk, and said the safest move is to dispose of any variation before it can contaminate a horse or a sample.

The May 27 advisory said HIWU continues to find the products during searches, even after an earlier warning issued Jan. 5, 2024. That first alert came after HIWU received notice that a product sold as Yunnan Paiyao tested positive for ephedrine, a Class A controlled medication. HIWU said then that ephedrine was not listed on the ingredient label and that a positive tied to a prohibited substance in a supplement would still be prosecuted as an ADMC Program violation.

The agency’s latest warning sharpened the point with more testing concerns. HIWU said analyzed samples of the products, manufactured in the United States and abroad, have reportedly contained boldione, glaucine, higenamine, adenosine monophosphate and ephedrine, even when those ingredients were absent from the label. In racing, that is the kind of discrepancy that can turn a backstretch convenience into a failed test and a regulatory headache.

HIWU also reminded horsemen that dietary supplements are not regulated or evaluated by the United States Food and Drug Administration for safety, purity, stability, potency or efficacy before sale. HISA and HIWU do not approve, certify or endorse dietary supplements or feed products as permitted under the ADMC Program, and HIWU said supplements are used at horsemen’s and veterinarians’ own risk.

That is why this warning matters beyond one herbal product. Barns are full of liniments, poultices, over-the-counter remedies and supplements that look routine until a lab finds something prohibited. HIWU’s message was not just to avoid using Yunnan Baiyao, Yunnan Paiyao or Baiyao around covered horses. It was to get rid of them entirely before an avoidable positive becomes an expensive, preventable case.

HIWU, which oversees testing, education, laboratory accreditation, investigations and prosecution under the ADMC Program, has built its system around exactly this kind of prevention. Its 2024 annual report, released March 28, 2025, said it covered testing, results management, investigations, adjudication and educational efforts. On this issue, the lesson is simple: if the label says Yunnan, the safest play is to throw it out.