Volume 17, Issue 4, 16 April 2016, Article number 580
Open Access
(Review)
a Department of Anatomical, Histological, Forensic and Orthopedic Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
b Section of Legal Medicine, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy
b Section of Legal Medicine, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy
Abstract
The 3Ks (kava, kratom and khat) are herbals that can potentially induce liver injuries. On the one hand, growing controversial data have been reported about the hepatotoxicity of kratom, while, on the other hand, even though kava and khat hepatotoxicity has been investigated, the hepatotoxic effects are still not clear. Chronic recreational use of kratom has been associated with rare instances of acute liver injury. Several studies and case reports have suggested that khat is hepatotoxic, leading to deranged liver enzymes and also histopathological evidence of acute hepatocellular degeneration. Numerous reports of severe hepatotoxicity potentially induced by kava have also been highlighted, both in the USA and Europe. The aim of this review is to focus on the different patterns and the mechanisms of hepatotoxicity induced by “the 3Ks”, while trying to clarify the numerous aspects that still need to be addressed. © 2016 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
Author keywords
Hepatotoxicity; Herb induced liver injury; Herbals; Kava; Khat; Kratom
ISSN: 16616596Source Type: Journal Original language: English
DOI: 10.3390/ijms17040580Document Type: Review
Publisher: MDPI AG
Busardò, F.P.; Department of Anatomical, Histological, Forensic and Orthopedic Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy; email:fra.busardo@libero
© Copyright 2016 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
© Copyright 2016 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.