Hepatoprotective Herbs – A Review

Abstract

Liver is a vital organ play a major role in metabolism and excretion of xenobiotics from the body. Liver injury or liver dysfunction is a major health problem that challenges not only health care professionals but also the pharmaceutical industry and drug regulatory agencies. Liver cell injury caused by various toxic chemicals (certain antibiotic, chemotherapeutic agents, carbon tetrachloride (CCL₄), thioacetamide (TAA) etc.), excessive alcohol consumption and microbes is well-studied. The available synthetic drugs to treat liver disorders in this condition also cause further damage to the liver. Hence, Herbal drugs have become increasingly popular and their use is widespread. Herbal medicines have been used in the treatment of liver diseases for a long time. A number of herbal preparations are available in the market. The present review is aimed at compiling data on promising phytochemicals from medicinal plants that have been tested in hepatotoxicity models using modern scientific system.