Abstracts of the 2021 Annual meeting of the ALEH (Asociación Latinoamericana para el Estudio del Hígado)
More infoDrug-induced liver injury (DILI) can be caused by more than 900 drugs, toxins, and herbs, making it a major problem of clinical importance. The use of food supplements and/or herbal products has become increasingly common in the daily lives of the population worldwide. Natural products can be used for a variety of therapeutic purposes, such as treating gastrointestinal disorders and relieving menopausal symptoms.
AimTo evaluate the hepatotoxic activity of extracts of herbal medicines and dietary supplements used by patients with suspected DILI at a hepatotoxicity ambulatory.
MethodsThis is an experimental study and was carried out through chemical screening of plant species and dietary supplements for the determination of phytochemical classes. The samples were obtained of patients had DILI suspect, in ambulatorial care of a University Hospital. The experiments were made at Pharmacognosy laboratory.
Results18 samples were received from January 2019 to March 2020. Of these samples, 10 were leaves or stems, and 08 were herbal products or food supplements, with 02 samples being excluded due to contamination. Of the 10 (55%) samples that went to the analysis process, the presence of groups of chemical compounds from secondary plant metabolism was found, where 07 (36%) showed positive results for the presence of triterpenes and steroids. Of these 07 samples, 02 (11%) showed positive results for the presence of alkaloids.
ConclusionThere is a profile of liver damage caused by medicinal plants and the compounds present in them, which are mostly: alkaloids, triterpenes, steroids and anthraquinones. After conducting qualitative tests, triterpenes and steroids were identified in most samples (70%), in addition the presence of alkaloids (28%), suggesting that these can be responsible for the cases of DILI, but more robust studies on these samples are needed to identify chemical structure species.
