Hepatotoxicity of Saccharin

To the Editor: Saccharin is not known to alter liver function1–4. We report on a patient who had elevated serum concentrations of liver enzymes after the oral administration of three different drugs, of which saccharin was the only common constituent. Reexposure to pure saccharin supported its role in the pathogenesis of liver damage in this patient. A 70-year-old woman being evaluated for chronic fatigue was found to have increased levels of serum aspartate aminotransferase (306 U per liter), alanine aminotransferase (247 U per liter), γ-glutamyltransferase (1000 U per liter), and alkaline phosphatase (478 U per liter). The patient . . .