The wife of a California congressman died last year after reportedly ingesting a plant she believed to be a safe herbal remedy.
According to a coroner's report obtained by Kaiser Health News, the 61-year-old died of dehydration due to gastroenteritis — an inflammation of the stomach and intestines
The report states that a "partially intact" white mulberry leaf was found in her stomach.
The white mulberry tree, which is native to China, is often used in traditional medicine for ailments such as weight loss, diabetes, high cholesterol and high blood pressure, according to WedMD and Healthline.
White mulberry plants are generally considered safe — only two cases of people sickened by mulberry supplements have been reported to the FDA since 2004, according to KHN.
A small 2017 study found that the white mulberry leaf can cause gastrointestinal side effects including nausea, abdominal pain, cramping, distension or flatulence.
Dr. D'Michelle DuPre, a former medical examiner in South Carolina who reviewed the documents, told KHN that white mulberry leave also "tend to cause dehydration, and part of the uses for that can be to help someone lose weight, mostly through fluid loss..
"People unfortunately pass from dehydration every day, and there's a lot of different reasons and a lot of different causes."
"There's a science to this. It's not just what a coroner feels," said Fabricant, noting that coroner or family should have reported the death to the FDA for an investigation.