Acute Kidney Injury Following the Ingestion of a Medicinal Plants' Mixture: A Case Report

Abstract

Acute renal failure secondary to medicinal plants is common in countries where the use of traditional phytotherapy is preponderant. Although the nephrotoxic potentials of some herbal preparations have been well characterized, the use of many medicinal plants is still considered largely safe, often relying on weak evidence. Here, we report the case of a 17-year-old patient with severe acute renal failure, associated to an esophagitis with erosive gastritis as well as an inflammatory anemia, with no obvious etiology. After ruling out any other plausible explanation, the syndrome was attributed to the chronic intake of a mixture of three medicinal plants, previously unknown to be nephrotoxic: Artemisia absinthium, Marrubium vulgare, and Centaurium erythraea. A histological examination of a renal biopsy sample revealed an aspect of interstitial nephritis without antibody deposits. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of acute kidney injury related to the consumption of these three plants and prompts further studies to carefully assess the safety of traditional medicinal products based on these plants.

Keywords: Artemisia absinthium; Centaurium erythraea; Marrubium vulgare; acute kidney injury; tubulointertitial nephritis.

Figure 1

Histological slide from the patient's kidney biopsy, which show signs of nonspecific tubulointerstitial nephropathy.