Some turmeric supplements have resulted in cases of acute cholestatic hepatitis and the ministry continues to investigate the possible underlying causes of this situation. What really happened? The origin of the problem could be to be found in the ingredients from India.
Some turmeric supplements have resulted in cases of hepatitis acute cholestatic disease and the Ministry of Health continues to investigate the possible underlying causes of this situation. What really happened? The origin of the problem could be to be found in the ingredients from India.
While new brands and lots of turmeric-based supplements are added by the Ministry to the list of products already reported (here you will find updated data), a team of experts continues to investigate the causes of the phenomenon that led to the 16 cases of hepatitis acute cholestatic so far known.
However, it seems that in order to obtain the official results, it is necessary to wait a few more weeks, given that the analyzes take a long time. The tests are in fact carried out both on the reported supplements and on the raw material, looking for any contaminants such as aflatoxins, dyes or drugs that could have triggered cases of hepatitis.
The hypotheses are not lacking, even outside the official channels. Interesting the opinion of Fabio Firenzuoli, university professor and head of the Research and Innovation Center in Phytotherapy and Integrated Medicine at the Careggi Hospital in Florence.
First of all, the expert underlines that the story is "a bolt from the blue", it is in fact the first time that such cases have occurred. To date, there had been only one case of autoimmune hepatitis linked to the consumption of turmeric, a type however different from the acute cholestatic one.
The suspicion that many have is that the Indian raw material with which the reported turmeric supplements were made, has suffered contamination. This could have occurred during the production or transport phase or be due to the fact that, for those products, a type of turmeric different from the more common curcuma longa was used.
When asked what idea was made of the origin of the problems related to these supplements, posed by Il Salvagente to Professor Firenzuoli, the expert replied:
“There are more hypotheses in the field. Personally I imagine at least two: the manufacturer - some of the contaminated supplements share the same Indian supplier of the raw material - did not use curcuma longa but another type that can have hepato-toxic effects. Or there could be a greater metabolic sensitivity to the spice on the part of women who fell ill with hepatitis: among all the reported cases, in fact, there is another common denominator, namely that most of the patients are women ".
Firenzuoli reminds us that the benefits of turmeric are scientifically proven, in particular its anti-inflammatory and protective effect on the liver. It shows itself though cautious about the use of fresh or powdered spice (therefore not supplements) which at the moment would seem safe but:
"Who can tell? I don't feel like giving a certain and unambiguous answer: it is safe until it is associated with a case of hepatitis. The situation is constantly monitored and I don't feel like excluding any hypothesis ".
We just have to wait for the official data, that is, that the Ministry of Health finds the key to the problem!
Read also:
- Turmeric and hepatitis alarm. Do we have to forgo its benefits for this?
- Turmeric: what happens to the body with a teaspoon a day
- Turmeric: all scientifically proven properties
