Herbal preparations as a source of hepatoprotective agents.

Mono- and polyherbal preparations with potent antihepatotoxic activity in various liver disorders, made from traditionally used herbs with proven efficacy, have been described. More than 700 mono- and polyherbal preparations in the form of decoction, tincture, tablets and capsules from more than 100 plants are in clinical use. Some of the herbs--such as Silybum marianum, Picrorhiza kurroa, Andrographis paniculata and Glycyrrhizae radix--are very common in most of the polyherbal preparations. This review covers the preparations of widely used herbs such as S. marianum, Schisandra chinensis, Phyllanthus amarus, P. kurroa, A. paniculata, G. radix, Lycium chinense and Cochlospermum tinctorium as hepatoprotectants and includes the mode of action of these preparations. Some polyherbal preparations such as Livex, HD-03, Hepatomed and Hepatoguard with proven efficacy are also described in this review. (c) 2001 Prous Science. All rights reserved.