Germander
Common name
Teucrium
ID
HD0030
Scientific name of the plant
Teucrium chamaedrys.
Anatomical part for use
above-ground part
Human use
Weight Control
Summary
Teucrium is a cosmopolitan genus of flowering plants in the family Lamiaceae, commonly known as germanders. Plants in this genus are perennial herbs or shrubs, with branches that are more or less square in cross-section, leaves arranged in opposite pairs, and flowers arranged in thyrses, the corolla with mostly white to cream-coloured, lobed petals. (Source: Wiki)
Evidence Level
Level 4 (Individual reports repeated observed over 5 years among different countries)
Hepatotoxicity reports in literature
- Acute hepatitis associated with herb (Teucrium capitatum L.) administration : (Source)
- Fatal hepatitis after herbal tea : (Source)
- [Liver damage induced by the ingestion of a product of phytotherapy containing wild germander. Four cases] : (Source)
- [Cytolytic hepatitis and wild Germander: a new case with reintroduction] : (Source)
- [Fulminant hepatitis caused by wild germander] : (Source)
- Acute cholestatic hepatitis caused by Teucrium polium L : (Source)
- [Acute hepatitis caused by wild germander. Hepatotoxicity of herbal remedies. Two cases] : (Source)
- Hepatitis after germander (Teucrium chamaedrys) administration: another instance of herbal medicine hepatotoxicity : (Source)
- Hepatitis caused by the herbal remedy Teucrium polium L : (Source)
- Herb-induced hepatitis by Teucrium polium L.: report of two cases and review of the literature : (Source)
- Severe acute cholestasis caused by Teucrium polium : (Source)
- Two contemporary cases of hepatitis associated with Teucrium chamaedrys L. decoction use: case reports and review of literature : (Source)
- Hepatitis: a herbal remedy Germander : (Source)
- Liver transplantation for severe acute liver failure after herbal medicine (Teucrium polium) administration : (Source)
- [Chronic active hepatitis and cirrhosis induced by wild germander. 3 cases] : (Source)
- [Chronic cirrhogenic hepatitis induced by germander] : (Source)
- Hepatitis after the use of germander, a herbal remedy : (Source)
Hepatotoxicity Description
Liver injury attributable to germander was first reported in a series of publications from France in 1992, a few years after a weight loss supplement containing germander ("Tealine") was commercially marketed in that country. The onset of acute injury varied from 2 to 18 weeks (averaging 9 weeks) after starting germander capsules or tea. The typical presentation was with fatigue, nausea and jaundice in an acute viral hepatitis-like syndrome with a hepatocellular pattern of serum enzyme elevations. Immunoallergic features were uncommon or minimal as were autoantibodies. Liver biopsies showed a prominence of centrilobular necrosis and inflammation with minimal fibrosis. Most patients recovered rapidly upon withdrawal of germander, but a few fatalities were reported. Rapid recurrence with reexposure was reported on multiple occasions. A second pattern of injury was identified with longer term therapy, generally after 6 to 9 months of treatment, characterized by a chronic hepatitis-like syndrome often with arthralgias and fever and low levels of autoantibodies and hyperglobulinemia, with liver biopsy showing chronic hepatitis and fibrosis. Germander was banned in several European countries and was never marketed to a major extent in the United States. Other species of Teucrium (polium, capitatum, viscidum) have been implicated in causing similar hepatocellular injury clinically and histologically. Germander has been reported to be an adulterant of other herbal preparations including skullcap. Finally, germander has been implicated in liver injury, even when used to brew herbal teas. Because germander has been banned as a commercial extract, most recent cases have been due to brewing tea from leaves of locally collected germander plants. (Source: LiverTox)
Common name
Teucrium
ID
HD0030
Scientific name of the plant
Teucrium chamaedrys.
Anatomical part for use
above-ground part
Human use
Weight Control
Summary
Teucrium is a cosmopolitan genus of flowering plants in the family Lamiaceae, commonly known as germanders. Plants in this genus are perennial herbs or shrubs, with branches that are more or less square in cross-section, leaves arranged in opposite pairs, and flowers arranged in thyrses, the corolla with mostly white to cream-coloured, lobed petals. (Source: Wiki)
Evidence Level
Level 4 (Individual reports repeated observed over 5 years among different countries)
Hepatotoxicity reports in literature
- Acute hepatitis associated with herb (Teucrium capitatum L.) administration : (Source)
- Fatal hepatitis after herbal tea : (Source)
- [Liver damage induced by the ingestion of a product of phytotherapy containing wild germander. Four cases] : (Source)
- [Cytolytic hepatitis and wild Germander: a new case with reintroduction] : (Source)
- [Fulminant hepatitis caused by wild germander] : (Source)
- Acute cholestatic hepatitis caused by Teucrium polium L : (Source)
- [Acute hepatitis caused by wild germander. Hepatotoxicity of herbal remedies. Two cases] : (Source)
- Hepatitis after germander (Teucrium chamaedrys) administration: another instance of herbal medicine hepatotoxicity : (Source)
- Hepatitis caused by the herbal remedy Teucrium polium L : (Source)
- Herb-induced hepatitis by Teucrium polium L.: report of two cases and review of the literature : (Source)
- Severe acute cholestasis caused by Teucrium polium : (Source)
- Two contemporary cases of hepatitis associated with Teucrium chamaedrys L. decoction use: case reports and review of literature : (Source)
- Hepatitis: a herbal remedy Germander : (Source)
- Liver transplantation for severe acute liver failure after herbal medicine (Teucrium polium) administration : (Source)
- [Chronic active hepatitis and cirrhosis induced by wild germander. 3 cases] : (Source)
- [Chronic cirrhogenic hepatitis induced by germander] : (Source)
- Hepatitis after the use of germander, a herbal remedy : (Source)
Hepatotoxicity Description
Liver injury attributable to germander was first reported in a series of publications from France in 1992, a few years after a weight loss supplement containing germander ("Tealine") was commercially marketed in that country. The onset of acute injury varied from 2 to 18 weeks (averaging 9 weeks) after starting germander capsules or tea. The typical presentation was with fatigue, nausea and jaundice in an acute viral hepatitis-like syndrome with a hepatocellular pattern of serum enzyme elevations. Immunoallergic features were uncommon or minimal as were autoantibodies. Liver biopsies showed a prominence of centrilobular necrosis and inflammation with minimal fibrosis. Most patients recovered rapidly upon withdrawal of germander, but a few fatalities were reported. Rapid recurrence with reexposure was reported on multiple occasions. A second pattern of injury was identified with longer term therapy, generally after 6 to 9 months of treatment, characterized by a chronic hepatitis-like syndrome often with arthralgias and fever and low levels of autoantibodies and hyperglobulinemia, with liver biopsy showing chronic hepatitis and fibrosis. Germander was banned in several European countries and was never marketed to a major extent in the United States. Other species of Teucrium (polium, capitatum, viscidum) have been implicated in causing similar hepatocellular injury clinically and histologically. Germander has been reported to be an adulterant of other herbal preparations including skullcap. Finally, germander has been implicated in liver injury, even when used to brew herbal teas. Because germander has been banned as a commercial extract, most recent cases have been due to brewing tea from leaves of locally collected germander plants. (Source: LiverTox)