Acute liver injury induced by weight-loss herbal supplements

doi:10.4254/wjh.v2.i11.410

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Nov 27, 2010 (publication date) through Jul 22, 2024

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World Journal of Hepatology

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1948-5182

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Baishideng Publishing Group Inc, 7041 Koll Center Parkway, Suite 160, Pleasanton, CA 94566, USA

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World J Hepatol. Nov 27, 2010; 2(11): 410-415
Published online Nov 27, 2010. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v2.i11.410

Acute liver injury induced by weight-loss herbal supplements

Gary C Chen, Vivek S Ramanathan, David Law, Pauline Funchain, George C Chen, Samuel French, Boris Shlopov, Viktor Eysselein, David Chung, Sonya Reicher, Binh V Pham

Gary C Chen, Vivek S Ramanathan, David Law, Pauline Funchain, George C Chen, Samuel French, Boris Shlopov, Viktor Eysselein, David Chung, Sonya Reicher, Binh V Pham, Department of Gastroenterology and Pathology, Harbor UCLA Medical Center, Torrance, CA 90509, United States

Author contributions: Chen Gary C, Ramanathan VS, Law D, Funchain P, and Chen George C were involved in direct patient care, data gathering, and case report write ups; French S and Shlopov B are from the department of pathology and interpreted the histology; and Eysselein V, Chung D, Reicher S and Pham BV were the attending gastroenterologists supervising background research and validity.

Supported by Harbor UCLA Medical Center and The Division of Gastroenterology

Correspondence to: Vivek S Ramanathan, MBChB, Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology, Harbor UCLA Medical Center, 1000 W. Carson St, Torrance, CA 90502, United States. drvivekram@gmail.com

Telephone: +1-917-4340814 Fax: +1-562-9244890

Received: August 3, 2010
Revised: November 4, 2010
Accepted: November 11, 2010
Published online: November 27, 2010

Abstract

We report three cases of patients with acute liver injury induced by weight-loss herbal supplements. One patient took Hydroxycut while the other two took Herbalife supplements. Liver biopsies for all patients demonstrated findings consistent with drug-induced acute liver injury. To our knowledge, we are the first institute to report acute liver injury from both of these two types of weight-loss herbal supplements together as a case series. The series emphasizes the importance of taking a cautious approach when consuming herbal supplements for the purpose of weight loss.

Keywords: Hydroxycut, Herbalife, Hepatotoxicity, Herbal, Weight-loss