Acute liver injury following Garcinia cambogia weight-loss supplementation: case series and literature review

Internal and Emergency Medicine volume 13, pages857–872(2018)Cite this article

Abstract

Herbal weight-loss supplements are sold as self-medication products, and are often used under the misconception that their natural origin guarantees their safety. Food supplements are not required to provide any benefit/risk profile evaluation before marketing; however, possible risks associated with use of herbal extracts in food supplements are becoming more and more documented in the literature. Some herbs are listed as the leading cause of herb-induced liver injury, with a severe or potentially lethal clinical course, and unpredictable herb–drug interactions. Garcinia cambogia (GC) extract and GC-containing products are some of the most popular dietary supplements currently marketed for weight loss. Here, we present four cases of acute liver failure in women taking GC extract for weight loss, and a literature review of clinical evidences about hepatic toxicity in patients taking dietary supplements containing GC extract.

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  1. Giada Crescioli and N. Lombardi contributed equally.

Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurosciences, Psychology, Drug Research and Child Health, Section of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Florence, Viale G. Pieraccini, 6, 50139, Florence, Italy

    Giada Crescioli, Niccolò Lombardi, Alessandra Bettiol, Ettore Marconi & Alfredo Vannacci

  2. Division of General Medicine 2, New Hospital “Santo Stefano”, Prato, Italy

    Filippo Risaliti & Michele Bertoni

  3. National Centre for Drug Research and Evaluation, National Institute of Health, Rome, Italy

    Francesca Menniti Ippolito

  4. Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Florence, Florence, Italy

    Valentina Maggini & Eugenia Gallo

  5. Referring Center for Phytotherapy, Tuscany Region Careggi, University Hospital, Florence, Italy

    Valentina Maggini, Eugenia Gallo & Fabio Firenzuoli

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  1. Giada Crescioli
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  2. Niccolò Lombardi
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  3. Alessandra Bettiol
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Correspondence to Giada Crescioli.

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Crescioli, G., Lombardi, N., Bettiol, A. et al. Acute liver injury following Garcinia cambogia weight-loss supplementation: case series and literature review. Intern Emerg Med 13, 857–872 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11739-018-1880-4

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Keywords

  • Adverse events
  • Dietary supplements
  • Garcinia cambogia
  • Herb-induced liver injury
  • Hydroxycitric acid
  • Liver transplantation
  • Weight-loss supplements