Hepatotoxicity of herbal remedies.

The hepatotoxic effects of conventional drugs are well recognised, but herbal medicines are often assumed to be harmless and are advertised as such. The error of this assumption has recently received attention in the press,' but we think that doctors are not sufficiently aware of the potential toxicity of herbal medicines. We report on four women, three from Edinburgh and one from Tyneside, who sustained liver damage after taking herbal medicines for relieving stress. All had been in good health previously; none could recollect having been in contact with jaundice or hepatitis; none had travelled abroad, or had abused drugs parenterally or otherwise, or had been given blood or blood products; and none took alcohol in excess.