Herbal Medicines Linked to Liver Inflammation

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Herbal Medicines Linked to Liver Inflammation

Fri Jul 5, 8:21 PM ET

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Some types of herbal medicines have been linked

to liver inflammation in patients, suggesting the need for these products to

be regulated to reduce further risks to consumers, UK researchers report.

" The preparation and prescribing of these medications urgently needs tighter

control, as evidence of their potential toxicity has been recognized for

some years and is a growing problem, " according to Dr. Margaret F.

Bassendine of the Center for Liver Research in Newcastle Upon Tyne and her

colleagues.

In the latest issue of the European Journal of Gastroenterology and

Hepatology, the researchers present the stories of two patients who

experienced extensive liver inflammation after taking a mixture of Chinese

herbal roots, one of whom died following a liver transplant.

Bassendine and her co-authors also conducted a review of medical literature

written in English and identified 29 more patients with liver inflammation

linked to herbal treatments.

Why certain herbal medicines can cause inflammation of the liver is, at

present, unknown, the authors note. " It is difficult to provide conclusive

evidence of what caused (liver inflammation) since traditional Chinese

herbal medicines are sold in Europe as food supplements and therefore evade

the controls that apply to conventional medicines, " Bassendine's team

writes. Some products are mixtures that contain adulterants.

However, certain herbal products are mentioned more frequently than others

by people who experienced liver complications, the authors add. One product

that was taken by 11 patients, called Jin bu huan, is an extract of a plant

that behaves like an opiate. Six patients also reported taking Dictamnus

dasycarpus, which is sometimes used to treat eczema.

In the first case the authors present, a 31-year-old woman who was given an

infusion of Chinese herbal roots to help alleviate joint pain. The woman

soon became jaundiced and developed dark urine. She stopped taking the

medications 5 weeks after she began. She was not on any other medications,

and tests found no signs of hepatitis virus in her blood, which can cause

liver damage.

Nevertheless, her condition worsened. After doctors gave her an infusion of

an antibody that improved the functioning of her liver, she fully recovered.

In the second case, a 32-year-old man began taking Chinese herb roots to

treat benign tumors in his fatty tissue, and finished the entire nine doses

of the treatment even after he began to feel unwell. After the treatment

ended, he became jaundiced and also developed dark urine, and his condition

began to deteriorate rapidly. He received a liver transplant, but died from

an infection 13 days after the operation.

" Physicians and the general public should remain alert to the possibility of

adverse effects from all herbal remedies, which are being used widely

without definite evidence in common conditions such as asthma, " Bassendine

and her team conclude.

SOURCE: European Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology 2002;14:559-562.