Published: 00:59 BST, 18 August 2026 | Updated: 00:59 BST, 18 August 2026<\/p>\n
Tilda Pattman put her cough, sleeplessness and fatigue down to the lingering effects of Covid. And as someone who\u2019d previously taken supplements for her health, she decided to try and boost her recovery \u2018naturally\u2019 with a cocktail of nutrients bought online: green tea, black seed, turmeric, ginseng, melatonin and ashwagandha.<\/p>\n
These are popular remedies \u2013 green tea is often taken for antioxidant benefits; black seed for supporting immunity; turmeric for reducing inflammation; ginseng for energy; melatonin for sleep; and ashwagandha \u2013 a herb used in traditional Ayurvedic medicine \u2013 also for sleep.<\/p>\n
Yet within three weeks of starting her supplement \u2018health kick\u2019, the retired intensive care nurse from Nottingham developed liver failure and needed an emergency transplant. She then spent ten months in hospital, so ill she has virtually no recollection of it.<\/p>\n
Alarmingly, doctors warn cases of liver failure are rising as more people turn to supplements to \u2018boost\u2019 their health, often taking several at once and unaware high-strength extracts can deliver far larger doses than the foods and drinks they are derived from.<\/p>\n
Many online products are also unregulated and can contain toxic ingredients that aren\u2019t on the label, according to the Food Standards Agency (FSA), which regulates supplements (because they\u2019re classed as food).<\/p>\n
\u2018Herbal and dietary supplements account for 6 per cent of the acute liver injuries caused by medicines in Britain,\u2019 says Professor Guruprasad Aithal, a consultant liver specialist at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust and a leading expert on liver damage caused by medicines and supplements.<\/p>\n
And the problem is that, unlike the gradual scarring caused by years of heavy drinking or obesity, this potentially life-threatening damage can strike within weeks.<\/p>\n
This is because, as the liver breaks down concentrated plant extracts, it can produce toxic by-products which rapidly damage and even kill liver cells. It doesn\u2019t do this when we consume those same nutrients, in lower concentrations, from our diet.<\/p>\n
Within three weeks of starting her supplement \u2018health kick\u2019, Tilda Pattman developed liver failure and needed an emergency transplant<\/p>\n
She used a cocktail of nutrients bought online: green tea, black seed, turmeric, ginseng, melatonin and ashwagandha<\/p>\n
Supplements can also trigger an abnormal immune system attack on the liver in some people. This happens when a component in the supplement, or a chemical created as the liver processes it, attaches to proteins in liver cells.<\/p>\n
In people with a particular gene variant (that affects one in ten of us), the immune system mistakes these liver cells as a threat and destroys them \u2013 even if you\u2019re taking supplements at the right dose.<\/p>\n
If liver cells are destroyed faster than they can be replaced, the organ can rapidly fail.<\/p>\n
Yet early liver injury may cause no symptoms, or only vague tiredness, nausea or itching \u2013 abnormal blood tests may be the first warning sign.<\/p>\n