Disclaimer: None of the information in this article constitutes medical advice. All statements are merely the opinion of the writer(s). We recommend that patients follow their doctor’s guidance in regard to detoxification.

Duck Flower Detox is an herbal tea that “cleanses” the body according to the product’s manufacturer, and is used for weight loss. It’s quite expensive for an herbal tea ($49.99), and the product’s manufacturer makes a wide range of health claims about this product.

But is duck flower shown in research studies to have health benefits when consumed as a tea? Does it cause side effects? Who’s the real manufacturer of this product? And is duck flower detox better or worse than popular detox protocols like gut cleansing?

In this article we’ll answer all of these questions and more, as we analyze clinical studies on duck flower to give our take on whether or not it’s actually likely to effectively detox the body.

We’ll also share our concerns about the manufacturer, and compare duck flower detox to other popular detox protocols to pick our winners.

Key takeaways:

• We can't find any evidence that duck flower is effective for detoxing
• May cause severe side effects
• We do not currently recommend duck flower detox

Is Duck Flower Actually Healthy?

Aristolochia grandiflora is the botanical name for duck flower, and this plant has been studied in clinical trials.

A medical review published in the RSC Advances journal suggests that duck flower has been used to help patients recover from sexually transmitted diseases and gut issues.

A 2022 medical review suggests that the active chemical compound in duck flower can help protect against memory loss, diabetes, and has anti-inflammatory properties

We cannot find any evidence that duck flower “detoxes” the body or causes weight loss, nor does the manufacturer’s website cite any studies proving such.

Overall, duck flower may have some health benefits if used appropriately, but the risks outweigh the benefits as we’ll discuss potential dangers and side effects in the next section.

Is Duck Flower Dangerous?

There is some concerning research regarding potential negative health outcomes of duck flower ingestion.

A 2016 medical review reported that aristolochic acids (AA), which are some of the core chemical compounds in duck flower, “contributes significantly to the overall incidence of [kidney cancer] and chronic kidney disease in Taiwan.”

A medical review published in the Nature Reviews Cancer journal describes aristolochic acid-associated cancers as “a public health risk in need of global action.”

A medical review published in the Phytomedicine journal described the following after analyzing data from a large-scale study on diabetic patients:

“The use of AA-containing herbal products was associated with a significantly higher risk of liver, colorectum, kidney, bladder, prostate, pelvis, and ureter cancer in a dose-dependent manner.”

This suggests that higher doses of duck flower may pose greater cancer risks, at least in diabetic patients.

We consider this data to be concerning, and we’d certainly recommend that patients speak with their doctor prior to using duck flower detox in light of this information.

Questionable Health Claims

There are a number of questionable and uncited health claims on the Duck Flower Detox website, which can be accessed at this link.

As shown below, the brand claims that this detox “gets rid of parasites:”

There is no citation or proof provided for this claim, nor is there any evidence provided that regular, healthy adults have parasites in their intestines that need to be removed.

We certainly haven’t come across any medical evidence that otherwise healthy adults have parasites that need to be removed with tea.

The brand also claims that their product can treat irregular heartbeat and cause weight loss:

Again, there is no proof provided for either claim, and these are specific health claims made without any research backing that we urge both the FDA and FTC to investigate. 

We recommend that consumers exercise extreme caution when considering health products sold by companies that make unproven health claims, and we’re also concerned about the lack of a clear manufacturer/owner of this brand.

There are many different companies selling products called “Duck Flower Detox,” and while it seems to us that the brand linked above is the main seller, we consider it a red flag when a company fails to secure a trademark to protect their product and brand.

This may signal a brand that doesn’t plan to be around long-term.

Duck Flower Detox vs. Popular Detoxes

Here's how duck flower detox compares to other popular detox protocols in terms of safety and potential efficacy, in our opinion:

High Voltage Detox

Contains at least one active ingredient that's clinically shown to support liver health.

Also contains a high added sugar dose and unhealthy additives, but we give it the edge from a health perspective given the lack of actively harmful ingredients.

Winner: High Voltage Detox

Gut Cleanse

Although we consider most gut cleansing protocols to be unscientific, as we discussed in our gut cleanse review article, we do not consider them to be actively dangerous like duck flower detox.

Winner: Gut Cleanse

Liver Health Formula

Contains research-backed active ingredients (albeit underdosed in our opinion) and is free from unhealthy additives.

Winner: Liver Health Formula

Can Tea Support Natural Detox Processes?

We don't recommend the use of food products or supplements to "cleanse" or "remove toxins" from the body.

However, there are compounds which can naturally support the body's own detoxification processes for consumers intent on doing so.

Rooibos tea was shown to support optimal liver function in a clinical trial published in the Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity journal.

The study authors concluded the following:

"Results from this study suggest that the daily intake of unfermented rooibos herbal tea or a derived commercial rooibos supplement may benefit human health by providing the liver with an enhanced antioxidant capacity to reduce damage induced by toxicants."

Pique Rooibos Tea is our top rooibos tea pick, because it's conveniently in crystallized form and only hot water (no teapot) is needed to make it. The only ingredient in this product is organic rooibos.

We are not suggesting that rooibos tea should be used to treat any specific health condition.

Duck Flower Detox Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Naturally derived
• Free of unhealthy additive ingredients

Cons:

• Expensive for a tea
• We can’t find any clinical evidence that it “detoxes” the body
• We can’t find any clinical evidence that it causes weight loss
• Aristocholic acids are listed by the WHO as a probable carcinogen
• May be harmful to the kidneys
• None of the brands seem to publish product testing
• Companies selling this product make questionable health claims
• “Detox” teas generally may be a waste of money

Conclusion

Duck Flower Detox is an underwhelming health product, like most “detox” products we’ve reviewed on Illuminate Health.

We haven’t come across any convincing medical evidence that otherwise healthy consumers require “detoxification” from over-the-counter (OTC) products like tea. When patients do require external detoxification, it is done in a clinical setting and not using tea.

We can’t find any evidence that the plant in this tea detoxes the body or causes weight loss. We did find some medical studies suggesting it may be harmful to the kidneys.

Some doctors suggest that all detox teas are a waste of money, but even for consumers searching for products in this category, there are likely better options than this one from a safety perspective.

The main retailer of Duck Flower Detox makes a number of questionable and unproven health claims on their website.

We consider duck flower detox to be an inferior detox product when compared to High Voltage Detox, gut cleansing and Liver Health Formula.