Around 15.6 million adults in the United States have taken at least one potentially hepatotoxic botanical in the past month, according to new research published in JAMA Network Open.
The botanicals—from ashwagandha to turmeric—have gained popularity through online advertisements and social media content that tout the herbals as treatments for gastrointestinal conditions, menopause and high cholesterol, the study’s lead researcher, Alisa Likhitsup, MD, MPH, a clinical assistant