JAMA Netw Open

Health or hazard? Millions of U.S. adults consume potentially liver-damaging botanicals

August 8, 2024

An estimated 15.6 million U.S. adults consumed at least one botanical product with potential liver liability within the previous 30 days. Given the lack of regulatory oversight on the manufacturing and testing of botanical products, clinicians should be aware of possible adverse events from consumption of these largely unregulated products.

Key Results:

• The study, which analyzed data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), included 9,685 adults. The overall prevalence of HDS product use was 57.6%, while the prevalence of using the six botanicals of interest was 4.7%.
• Consumers of these six botanicals were significantly older, had a higher level of education, and were more likely to have arthritis compared with non-HDS users.
• More than 15 million U.S. adults used at least one of the six botanical products within the previous month, which was similar to the estimated number of patients prescribed potentially hepatotoxic drugs, including simvastatin and NSAIDs. The most common reason for consuming turmeric and green tea was to improve or maintain health.

Source:

Likhitsup A, et al. (2024, August 1). JAMA Netw Open. Estimated Exposure to 6 Potentially Hepatotoxic Botanicals in US Adults. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39102266/