The Effect of Milk Thistle, Green Tea, and Cinnamon Beverages on Liver Enzymes of Operating Room Anesthesia Personnel

Abstract

Background: Millions of health workers in operating rooms worldwide are exposed to inhaled anesthetics. However, the effects of continuous exposure to inhalational anesthetics are still controversial in many studies. Objectives: The present study investigated the effects of milk thistle, green tea, and cinnamon consumption on liver enzymes in operating room personnel. Methods: In this study, we investigated the effects of milk thistle tea, green tea, and cinnamon tea on liver enzymes in operating room staff in a controlled, double-blind study from 2019 to 2020. In two parallel groups, 62 subjects were randomly assigned to ingest the beverages the teas. Milk thistle, green tea, and cinnamon were taken daily for four weeks. During the intervention, all participants were educated about the importance of a balanced diet and physical activity. Results: The milk thistle, green tea, and cinnamon groups showed a significant statistical difference in reduced levels of AST, ALT, ALP, ALB, GGT, bilirubin, and ESR after four weeks (P value < 0.001). Conclusions: The results of this study demonstrated that ingesting green tea and cinnamon reduced liver enzymes in surgical personnel. Among the extracts, milk thistle had a greater effect on liver enzymes than the other two extracts. It can be concluded that the prescribed milk thistle extract can be considered a potential intervention to improve liver enzyme levels in surgical personnel to reduce the adverse effects of anesthetics.