title: Assessment of prescribed herbal medicine on liver function in Korea: a prospective observational study.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of East-West Medical Science, Kyung Hee University, Suwon, Korea.
authors.forename: Young-Ju
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Yun
authors.forename: Seong-Su
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Nah
authors.forename: Jae-Hyun
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Seul-Ki
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.forename: Eun-Kyung
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: Paeck
authors.forename: Jae-Hyung
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Eui-Joon
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Se-Hyun
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Hae-Mo
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Sun-Dong
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Ji-Yong
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Seung-Jae
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.forename: Bong-Keun
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Choe
authors.forename: Joo-Ho
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Chung
mesh_terms: 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
chemical_list: D010936:Plant Extracts; D005723:gamma-Glutamyltransferase; D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases; D000410:Alanine Transaminase; D000469:Alkaline Phosphatase; D001663:Bilirubin