Liver injury induced by herbal and dietary supplements: a pooled analysis of case reports

Abstract

– Background – The intake of dietary supplements and medicinal plants is very popular worldwide. However, these products are not innocuous, and their intake can cause severe damage to health, especially liver injury. Objective – This study aims to describe the clinical cases of dietary supple-ments-induced liver injury (DSILI) and herb-induced liver injury (HILI), identifying the main products involved and the clinical outcomes related to them. Method – A literature search was performed in PubMed, EMBASE, Google Scholar, and LILACS databases, using the search terms: “Chemical and Drug-Induced Liver Injury”, “Dietary Supplements” and “Herbal” and their synonyms. Results – 189 articles were included in the study, totaling 428 clinical cases of drug-induced liver injury. The most frequent agents of liver injury were Herbalife® products, associated with 50 cases, Polygonum multiflorum, with 25 cases, Hydroxycut® products, and green tea, both associated in 19 cases, and Oxyelite Pro® and kava tea, both associated with 16 cases. Most individuals required hospitalization (82.6%) and an important number of cases evolved to death (3.6%), liver transplantation (8.9%), or chronic liver disease (1.9%). Conclusion – The indiscriminate use of dietary supplements and herbal products was associated with an alarming number of cases of liver injury. The mechanisms through which each of the products causes liver damage still need to be better understood, but this review is a warning about the risk associated with the use of products considered harmless by a large part of the population.