KUCHING, July 15: Popular Chinese dish ‘bak kut teh’ (pork rib soup) has the potential to cause liver damage when clashed with prescribed drugs, according to a study in Australia.
Scientists from the University of Adelaide and the University of Melbourne made soup from four locally-purchased pre-made bak kut teh packets and added them to cultures of liver cancer cells.
Even when diluted, University of Adelaide’s Schools of Biomedicine researcher Professor Roger Byard said all four samples “demonstrated significant toxicity” to the cells.
According to the study which is published in Forensic Science, Medicine and Pathology on June 24, the herbal soup killed 83 per cent of cells exposed to it in undiluted form, and when diluted 10 times, it killed 15 per cent of the cells.
The study titled “Could herbal be a potentially unrecognised cause of hepatotoxicity at autopsy?” added that cell cultures without the bak kut teh soup showed zero cell deaths.
Speaking to ABC Radio Adelaide, Byard said it was unclear what exactly in the soup was causing the damage as all the packets contain different ingredients, including vague terms such as spices, pepper, and salt.
He, however, noted that the study should not start a panic seeing that many have had bak kut teh and demonstrated no such issues.
The study was conducted following the case of a Victorian patient who suffered liver damage after eating bak kut teh while on medication to lower her blood lipid levels.
Another woman in Adelaide also died from liver failure and liver necrosis after taking a herbal preparation for inflammatory bowel disease.
In conclusion, the study said that not only herbal therapeutic agents might be responsible for liver damage, but they may also extend to herbal foodstuffs such as the well-liked bak kut teh. — DayakDaily
