As Turmeric Supplements Gain Popularity, Lahey Hair-Loss Expert Urges Caution

Dermatologist Flags Liver Risks Tied to Turmeric Supplements

BURLINGTON, MA — Over the past decade, turmeric has gone from spice-rack staple to one of the best-selling wellness supplements in the country. Now, as a growing number of people are reaching for it to fight hair loss, a small number of serious liver injuries — including one death — have been tied to turmeric supplements. In a letter in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, corresponding author, Maryanne Senna, MD, director of the Hair Loss Center of Excellence at Lahey Clinic, urges her fellow dermatologists to ask patients with hair-loss a question they once might not have thought to ask: what supplements are you taking?

"Patients come in every day having tried something they saw on social media, and turmeric and multi-ingredient supplements containing turmeric, including those marketed for hair growth, are among the most common," Senna said. "Not only can they potentially cause liver issues but they do absolutely nothing to grow hair. It's our responsibility to ask what our patients are taking, check on them, and make sure they're safe."

While turmeric is not inherently toxic and the overall risk of liver toxicity remains low, the cases are adding up, and they're tracking with the herb's surging popularity. Senna and her colleagues point to a federal research network that tracks liver injury from medications and supplements that has logged 10 cases tied to turmeric, all since 2011, with more than half of them occurring since 2017.

Of the 10 turmeric-related cases, five patients were hospitalized and one died of acute liver failure. The nine survivors recovered once they stopped taking turmeric. Symptoms, including jaundice — yellowing of the skin and/or eyes — along with nausea and abdominal pain, typically surfaced one to four months after patients started taking the supplement.

Physicians don’t yet understand why some turmeric harms some people and not others, but it doesn't appear to be a simple matter of dose. In seven of the 10 cases, patients carried a particular gene variant not seen at such a high rate among the general population, a sign that some people may be genetically predisposed. Researchers also suspect the black-pepper extract added to many supplements to help the body absorb turmeric's active ingredient may raise the risk, though it’s not always a factor in liver injury cases. Other cases may be complicated by alcohol use.

For clinicians, Senna and her colleagues offer concrete advice: ask patients with hair-loss what supplements they take, keep turmeric in mind when liver tests are abnormal for no clear reason, and steer patients away from high doses and "enhanced-absorption" formulas that pair curcumin with black pepper.

For consumers, the message is simpler. Anyone taking turmeric should know the warning signs of liver trouble — yellowing of the skin or eyes, nausea, or abdominal pain — and should tell their doctor they're taking turmeric or any other over-the-counter supplements. And it’s important to note that, unlike prescription drugs, supplements reach the market without rigorous testing or FDA approval, so what's on the label isn't always what's in the bottle.

Co-authors included Meshi Paz, BS, Raymond Z. Ezzat, BS, and Caroline Kreytak, BS of Lahey Clinic. The authors disclosed no funding sources nor conflicts of interest.