HOUSTON -- There are dozens of Hispanic herbal stores in Houston that promise a cure for everything from bad luck to cancer. However, some of what they sell can be dangerous and possibly deadly.

Marielena Jordan knows of the dangers first hand after a friend went looking for a cure for acne.

Jordan's friend visited a Houston yerberia – which is what the Hispanic herbal stores are called. That's where she bought an herbal remedy that promise to cure her acne.

“My friend actually believed what they told her,” said Jordan, whose friend died soon after taking the concoction.

The yerberias can be found all over Houston, especially on the east end. Last month, 11 News purchased a bottle of an herbal remedy made in the Dominican Republic that – among other things – was supposed to help a woman end a pregnancy.

Dr. Amitava Dasgupta, a toxicologist at the UT Health and Science Center in Houston, analyzed the liquid at the request of 11 News.

“There are more than 100 compounds and it would take me years to find all of them,” Dr. Dasgupta said.

He said one ingredient in the concoction could cause an abortion, but that wasn't all it could do.

“It might kill you,” said Dr. Dasgupta.

The Food and Drug Administration sees the herbs sold in the Yerberias as food or dietary supplements. That means their sales don't need the government's approval – or regulation.

“I'm very frustrated because I think the government should act,” said Dr. Dasgupta. “It is unfortunate that the government (doesn't) look at herbal medicine as Western medicine. There is some good and bad, it just needs some regulation.”

For now, it's a free market. And possibly a deadly one.