Expired Herbs

I bought a bottle of herbs (Cyst Ease) on sale in a small town health food store. It contains chaparrel, after I left town I noticed that the bottle had expired 7 1/2 years ago. I called back and the store owner acted as if I had insulted her somehow and said the herbs were still good. Since it is a dangerous herb and so old I am worried about using it. Should I take a chance? Is it safe?

Oh dear. Unfortunately there are no rules written in stone on how long a herbs vitality will last as there are so many variables that would affect it such as form of preparation, part of plant used, storage of remedy, etc. If it is in the form of a liquid preparation such as a tincture or liquid extract, it should still be fine. If it is in capsules or tea bags, they would likely be ready for a compost pile. The fact that there is chaparral in it really is not an issue and does not play an important factor.