Artemisinins are a class of compounds that include artesunate, artemether, and artemisinin, and they have potent antimalarial activity. In combination with other drugs (artemisinin combination therapy), these compounds are the first-line treatment recommended by the World Health Organization for Plasmodium falciparum infections. Artemisinins have been available in the United States without a prescription as herbal supplements for at least 10 years; these supplements are marketed for general health maintenance and for treatment of parasitic infections and cancers. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports on a patient who developed hepatitis after a 1-week course of an herbal supplement containing artemisinin. The patient had abdominal pain, dark urine, and laboratory results consistent with hepatitis. Given the patient’s clinical course and laboratory evaluation, CDC investigators concluded that the hepatitis might have been associated with ingestion of the herbal supplement containing artemisinin. More data are needed to establish any causal connection between artemisinin and hepatitis. Healthcare providers should be aware of the possibility of hepatic toxicity in patients taking herbal supplements containing artemisinin.
(Source: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, CDC, August 14, 2009)
