A study published in JAMA Network Open reveals that about 5% of U.S. adults are exposed to six potentially hepatotoxic botanicals, which are largely unregulated products typically used to improve health or treat minor health complications.
Background The use of herbal and dietary supplements (HDSs) is increasing exponentially worldwide because of their perceived health benefits. More than 80,000 such products are available at various unregulated retail outlets and can be purchased without a prescription. Multivitamins, minerals, vitamin D, omega-3 fatty acids, and calcium form the largest group of herbal and dietary supplements.
These products do not require approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) prior to marketing, leading to a lack of safety and efficacy assessments.
Existing observational study findings indicate that the proportion of drug-induced liver injury (DILI) cases from herbal and dietary supplements has increased from 7% in 2005 to 20% in 2014 in the United States. These studies have identified turmeric, kratom, green tea extract, and Garcinia cambogia as the most commonly implicated botanicals with severe to fatal liver injury-inducing effects. In the current study, scientists have determined population-level estimates of exposure to six potentially hepatotoxic botanicals, including turmeric or curcumin, green tea, Garcinia cambogia , black cohosh, red yeast rice, and ashwagandha.
Study design This survey study analyzed data from the National H.