Hepatoprotective effects of various medicinal plants: A systematic review

Abstract

Various liver ailments (hepatitis, fatty live, cirrhosis, liver cancer) are serious issues throughout the world, caused by viruses and hepatotoxic agents. The natural products play an important role in the discovery of many new drugs and active constituents. The medicinal plants and herbal preparations are used for the cure of various hepatic disorders. However, in severe cases the single medicinal plant is not so much satisfactory. These plants contain effective therapeutic agents such as alkaloids, glycosides, saponins, flavonoids, antioxidants and terpenes having hepatoprotective effects from the toxic agents. Silibum marianum/milk thistle (Silymarin), Glycyrrhiza glabra (Glycyrrhizin), Picrorhiza kurroa (picrosides I and II), Phyllanthus maderaspatensis (β-sitosterol), Andrographis paniculata (Andrographolide), Trichopus zeylanicus, Eclipta alba and Phyllanthus amarus are sufficiently active against certain liver diseases.