Hovenia dulcis Thunb. Revisited: a mini critical review and call for further research to insightfully elucidate

Abstract

Hovenia dulcis (H. dulcis) has attracted substantial attention because it is been used as a medicinal herb in traditional folk medicine for treatment of liver diseases and detoxification by alcoholic poisoning. To support its functional attributes, many investigations have been carried out to find out its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, anti-diabetic, anti-tumor, hepatic-protective activities. However, some cases of toxic hepatitis have been reported in both adult and children patients after ingesting H. dulcis. So we strongly emphasized that hepatic-protection is not potential pharmacological marker to evaluate the quality of H. dulcis and its products due to this science inconsistency. Based on this mini review, we discussed and suggest that thorough scientific scrutiny is necessary in future researches to insightfully elucidate science opinion. The authors hope that this work will be helpful to give insight knowledge for readers, researchers, reviewers, and editors who interested in the related field of H. dulcis studies.