Green Tea Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Green Tea, including details on benefits, antioxidants, weight loss, diet, side effects.

Acute liver failure induced by green tea extracts: case report and review of the literature.

Molinari M, Watt KD, Kruszyna T, Nelson R, Walsh M, Huang WY, Nashan B, Peltekian K

Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Center, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Michele.molinari@cdha.nshealth.ca

In industrialized countries, over-the-counter dietary supplements have become popular in preventing and treating an expanding list of medical conditions. Although most commercially available supplements have not been rigorously tested for safety and efficacy, they have found an enlarging market because they are considered natural. Oral supplements containing green tea extract have been marketed as effective for weight loss and to prevent and cure some solid tumors. Although there is little scientific evidence of the effectiveness of green tea extracts to improve the quality of health of regular consumers, there is an increasing body of medical literature supporting the hypothesis that they can cause serious side effects. Our experience adds to previous reports of acute liver toxicity observed in individuals consuming supplements containing green tea extract. We highlight the importance of obtaining a detailed history of dietary supplement consumption when evaluating a patient presenting with acute liver dysfunction.

Published 4 December 2006 in Liver Transpl, 12(12): 1892-5.
Full-text of this article is available online (may require subscription).

© 2004-2008 Green Tea Research Today. All Rights Reserved.