Popular soup can cause liver damage when mixed with medication

A photo of soup in a bowl, atop a table.

Researchers from the 成人大片 have found that a popular soup, bak kut teh, has the potential to cause liver failure by clashing with prescription medication. Image: iStock.

Researchers from the 成人大片 have found that a popular soup, bak kut teh, has the potential to cause liver failure by clashing with prescription medication.

鈥淥ur team studied the recipes of four locally purchased packet mixes of bak kut teh, otherwise known as meat bone tea,鈥 said Professor Roger Byard, George Richard Marks Chair of Pathology at the 成人大片.

鈥淲hen mixed with liver cells, the ingredients killed up to 83 per cent in one concentrated soup formula.

鈥淧eople have been warned for some time that herbal medicines and therapies may have harmful side effects that can include significant liver damage.

鈥淚n rare cases this has required transplantation and even led to death.

鈥淔or the first time, a laboratory study by the 成人大片 has shown that foods containing herbs, such as the soup bak kut teh, may also be toxic to liver cells.

鈥淔or the first time, a laboratory study by the 成人大片 has shown that foods containing herbs, such as the soup bak kut teh, may also be toxic to liver cells."Professor Roger Byard, George Richard Marks Chair of Pathology at the 成人大片.


鈥淧eople with underlying liver disease or who are taking prescription medications should be warned of this potential side effect.

鈥淎ll such preparations should include accurate labelling of the ingredients until further studies can be undertaken to identify the specific herbal substances that are toxic.

鈥淗aving the soup at home or at a restaurant may cause damage to the liver.

鈥淚f unexpected liver damage is encountered at autopsy, information on possible recent ingestion of herbal food preparations should be sought, as routine toxicology screening will not identify the active components.

鈥淟iver damage may therefore be caused not only by herbal medicines, but possibly herbal products contained in food.鈥

Professor Roger Byard wears a lab coat and smiles into the camera.

Professor Roger Byard. Photo: Supplied.

The ingredients of each of the soups varied considerably from one label to another.

They included:

  • Formulation one: Dried hawthorn
  • Formulation two: Goji berries, ginseng, bark, and dried mushrooms
  • Formulation three: Polygonatum odoratum, ligusticum chuanxiong, codonopsis pilosula, cinnamomum cassia, angelica sinensis, illicium verum, piper nigrum, and Eugenia caryophyllata
  • Formulation four: Spices, pepper and salt

All formulations of bak kut teh demonstrated significant levels of toxicity.

The results of the tests have been published in the journal .

Co-authors on the research paper were Susan Britza (成人大片), Rachael Farrington (成人大片), Dr Ian Musgrave (成人大片) and Associate Professor Craig Aboltins (University of Melbourne).

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