Overview

• Katie Mohan spent six days in hospital after her liver enzyme levels surged more than 60 times the normal limit, prompting transfer to NYU Langone.
• She had been self-prescribing 2,250 mg of turmeric extract daily, over ten times the World Health Organization’s recommended 3 mg per kilogram per day.
• Mohan experienced stomach pain, nausea, fatigue and dark urine in the weeks before seeking medical attention.
• Her hepatologist says she narrowly avoided full liver failure that could have required a transplant and is now recovering.
• Experts urge keeping curcumin supplement doses between 500 and 2,000 mg daily, caution at-risk patients and call for tighter regulation and accurate labeling of herbal products.