Authors : David Feder, Lucas Godoy, Silvana Forsait, Cecilia K.R. Feder, Marilia Tavares Campos Oliveira Gaboardi, Giuliana Petri, Marisa Regina de Fatima Veiga Gouveia, Edimar Cristiano Pereira, Virginia Berlanga Campos Junqueira, Fabio Ferreira Perazzo, Ligia Ajaime Azzalis and Fernando Luiz Affonso Fonseca
Abstract: A large number of drugs, especially the phytotherapeutical ones may cause hepatic lesions either by intrinsic toxicity or idiosyncratic reactions. In the scientific literature, very little information can be found regarding hepatopathy cases caused by natural supplements which are freely sold without any control. In many countries, they are considered dietary or herbal supplements and they are not submitted to safety or efficacy studies before they are marketed. Herbalife ® products are mainly used on weight loss programs. Since, herbal-based products are sold as natural products, people in general consider their consumption safe. A study performed in Switzerland found 13 cases of toxic hepatitis caused by Herbalife® supplement intake between the years, 1998 and 2004. There were enough data in 10 out of those 13 cases that safely fit the World Health Organization criteria for hepatotoxicity. The objective of this study is to verify the hepatic histological and functional alterations in rats treated with Herbalife ® supplements. The 14 male adult rats were kept with water and food ad libitum. The 7 animals (Control) received 0.5 mL day-1 of saline solution and the other 7 were gavage fed with 100 mg/kg/day of Herbalife green tea for 2 months. After this period of time, a laboratorial analysis of a blood sample was performed as well as an anatomopathological analysis of the liver. The statistical analysis through the t-test was considered significant when p<0.05. Both groups gained considerable weight and there was no difference in relation to this gain. There were no significant alterations in the hepatic enzymes (AST, ALT, GammaGT, alkaline phosphatase, protein electrophoresis) in either group. Two animals in the control group and three animals in the Herbalife group presented subtle hepatic cell balonization in zone 3. There were no macroscopic alterations. Researchers did not observe any functional or pathological alterations in rats treated with Herbalife® green tea.
David Feder, Lucas Godoy, Silvana Forsait, Cecilia K.R. Feder, Marilia Tavares Campos Oliveira Gaboardi, Giuliana Petri, Marisa Regina de Fatima Veiga Gouveia, Edimar Cristiano Pereira, Virginia Berlanga Campos Junqueira, Fabio Ferreira Perazzo, Ligia Ajaime Azzalis and Fernando Luiz Affonso Fonseca, 2011. Evaluation of the Liver Function and its Histological Alterations in Rats Treated with Herbalife® Green Tea. Research Journal of Biological Sciences, 6: 227-229.