OTHER HERBS USED FOR HEPATITIS AND LIVER DISEASE
This section discusses six of the most common herbs used in the treatment of liver disease—licorice, green tea, dandelion, artichoke, turmeric, and black and long peppers. Read on to learn about some of the facts people with liver disease need to know before deciding to take these herbs.
Licorice
The word licorice tends to conjure up an image of chewy black or red candy. However, licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra) is also a powerful herb that has been proclaimed to help the liver. The active ingredients of licorice come from its roots and are believed by some to be due to glycyrrhizic acid, which also accounts for licorice’s sweet taste. This acid functions similarly to the body’s own naturally occurring hormone, aldosterone, which regulates salt and water in the body. Thus, side effects of licorice may include high blood pressure, water retention, and potassium depletion. It is important to avoid licorice during pregnancy. Also, people who have glaucoma, heart disease, or high blood pressure should avoid licorice.
Licorice has been shown in some experimental studies to stimulate production of the body’s natural supply of interferon. This may account for its popularity in Japan where it is sometimes used in the treatment of chronic viral hepatitis. When used intravenously, licorice has been demonstrated to lower liver enzymes. However, these results have not been confirmed, and some studies have concluded that licorice provides no beneficial effects on the liver in humans. Furthermore, it has been noted that if licorice is taken for more than one week, there is an increased risk of serious side effects, such as high blood pressure or dangerously low potassium levels. Sustained beneficial effects from licorice use have not been clearly demonstrated. The PDR for Herbal Medicines states that licorice is contraindicated (use is inadvisable) in people with chronic hepatitis, cholestatic liver disease, and cirrhosis. Licorice may contain iron and should therefore be avoided by people with iron overload diseases, such as hemochromatosis and sometimes chronic hepatitis C. Licorice may interact adversely with the steroid drug prednisone. Prednisone is used in the treatment of autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) and after liver transplantation as an immunosuppressant. Licorice may cause levels of this steroid to become dangerously elevated, thereby resulting in low potassium levels as well as salt and water retention. Licorice can also counteract the effects of the water pill (diuretic) spironolactone, used in the treatment of ascites. Finally, licorice has been shown to decrease testosterone levels. Thus, men suffering from decreased libido, which can occur in people with cirrhosis, as a side effect of interferon therapy (for hepatitis C), and as a side effect of many antidepressive medications (such as Celexa), should avoid taking licorice.
Green Tea
Green tea (Camellia sinensis), a popular tea in the Orient, contains a high dose of catechin, a plant chemical. By comparison, black tea, which is popular in the United States, has undergone the process of fermentation, resulting in a lower concentration of catechin. Catechin is a flavonoid with antioxidant properties that has the ability to stabilize cell membranes. Therefore, the proclaimed liver-protective properties of catechin are similar to those that are claimed for milk thistle.
Experimentally induced liver damage in rats and in liver cell cultures has demonstrated the protective effects on the liver afforded by catechin. However, most human studies have failed to show similar results. Side effects noted in one study involving humans included fever, hemolysis (breakdown of red blood cells), and urticaria (an allergic rash). Dosages used in humans were 20 to 40 milligrams per kilogram daily as opposed to 200 milligrams per kilogram daily used in rats. It has been suggested that higher dosages should be used on humans in order to reap the herb’s benefit of liver protection. However, the side effects that accompany higher dosages render such an approach impractical.
Dandelion
Anecdotally, it has been claimed that dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) possesses liver-healing properties. In fact, dandelion has been purported to enhance bile flow and to improve both hepatitis and jaundice. However, actual studies involving dandelion are difficult to locate. Dandelion has an extremely high vitamin-A content, higher than that of carrots. Since high levels of vitamin A can lead to serious liver damage (which will be discussed in Chapter 23), it is not advisable to use any herbal preparation that contains dandelion. (Please note, dandelion may contain iron and should, therefore, be avoided by people with iron overload diseases.)
Artichoke
The active ingredient of artichoke is found in the leaves and is known as caffeylquinic acid or cynara. The alleged properties of artichoke are similar to those alleged for milk thistle. Studies using artichoke on people with liver disease are difficult to locate.
Turmeric
Turmeric (Curcuma domestica) is the main ingredient in Indian curry powder. For thousands of years, this herb has been used by India’s practitioners of traditional Ayurvedic medicine as a cure for liver disease. The herb’s active component is the yellow pigment curcumin. This herb is proclaimed to have antioxidant properties. In experimental animal studies, it has been shown to inhibit liver damage from aflatoxin and other liver toxins. It might, therefore, be concluded that the Indian population has a lower incidence of liver disease than the rest of the world, but this has not been demonstrated.
Black Peppers and Long Peppers
Piperine is the active ingredient of black peppers (Piper nigrum) and long peppers (Piper longum), which are among the most commonly used spices. In cases of experimentally induced liver disease in mice, piperine has been shown to reduce the damaging effects of toxins on the liver. These studies explained this beneficial effect on the liver by asserting that piperine had the ability to prevent depletion of glutathione, the liver’s own protective antioxidant. There are no known studies comparing the occurrence of liver disease in people who consume these peppers with those who don’t.
All contents of this article are Copyright © Melissa Palmer, MD
Melissa Palmer, MD is the author of " Dr. Melissa Palmer's Guide of Hepatitis and Liver Disease". (Published 2004. Penguin Putnam).
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