Assessment of prescribed herbal medicine on liver function in Korea: a prospective observational study.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of herbal medicine (HM) prescribed by doctors of Korean medicine (KMD) on liver function in Korea.


METHODS
For this multicenter, prospective, observational study, we enrolled patients who wished to take HM prescribed by KMD for various medical purposes in Korea. One hundred and twenty-two (122) patients took HM for an average of 20.6 +/- 8.4 (mean +/- standard deviation) days, and completed questionnaires.


METHODS
Liver function tests (LFTs) were performed before (first test) and after each HM treatment (second test). For LFT, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, total bilirubin (t-Bil), direct bilirubin, alkaline phosphatase, and gamma-glutamyl transferase were measured.


RESULTS
There were no significant changes in LFT data between the first and second tests, except in the t-Bil level. However, all data of total bilirubin level in second test were within normal range, except only one patient. Multivariate analysis did not identify any herb that significantly increased t-Bil; hence no hepatotoxic herb was found. Twenty-one (21) of the 122 patients were abnormal on first testing, and 10 at the second testing. Of the patients taking herbs, 4 changed from normal to abnormal and 15 from abnormal to normal (p = 0.019).


CONCLUSIONS
The current study showed that ingestion of HM prescribed by KMD did not increase the frequency of abnormal LFTs, at least in the short term.
Yun
Young-Ju
YJ
Graduate School of East-West Medical Science, Kyung Hee University, Suwon, Korea.
Nah
Seong-Su
SS
Park
Jae-Hyun
JH
Jung
Seul-Ki
SK
Paeck
Eun-Kyung
EK
Park
Jae-Hyung
JH
Lee
Eui-Joon
EJ
Kim
Se-Hyun
SH
Park
Hae-Mo
HM
Lee
Sun-Dong
SD
Kim
Ji-Yong
JY
Hong
Seung-Jae
SJ
Choe
Bong-Keun
BK
Chung
Joo-Ho
JH
D000328:Adult; D000410:Alanine Transaminase / Q000097:blood; D000469:Alkaline Phosphatase / Q000097:blood; D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases / Q000097:blood; D001663:Bilirubin / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007723:Korea; D008099:Liver / Q000187:drug effects / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008107:Liver Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008111:Liver Function Tests; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008517:Phytotherapy / Q000379:methods*; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D005723:gamma-Glutamyltransferase / Q000097:blood
D010936:Plant Extracts; D005723:gamma-Glutamyltransferase; D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases; D000410:Alanine Transaminase; D000469:Alkaline Phosphatase; D001663:Bilirubin