Liver Cleansing Herbs

The liver is the largest gland in the body. It filters blood, stores nutrients, recycles red blood cells, filters toxins from the blood and makes bile for digestion. These vital functions become hampered when the liver stores too many contaminants to do its job correctly. The key to cleansing the liver of toxins is to stimulate increased bile production.

Milk Thistle seed (Silybum marianum)

Milk thistle is a liver cleanser herb. It contains the chemicals silymarin and silyin that protect and repair the liver while encouraging toxins to escape the body without being absorbed. The World Health Organization reports that numerous case reports have indicated that silymarin and silybin are effective in the treatment of poisoning due to ingestion of the deathcap mushroom. Poisoning from this mushroom (Amanita phalloides) usually causes death with 12 to 24 hours; however, after treatment with milk thistle constituents the survival rate was 100 percent.

Dandelion (Taraxacum officinalis)

Dandelion is a common garden weed that supports the digestive system. As nutritional consultant Phyllis Balch states in her book "Prescription for Herbal Healing," dandelion root has a significant cleansing effect on the liver by stimulating the production of bile, which ultimately results in increased transport of a variety of potentially noxious compounds to the stool.

Schisandra (Schisandra chinensis)

Schisandra berries (also called Wu-wei-zu) are a common ingredient in traditional Chinese liver cleansing formulas. The fruit contains over 40 different lignins (plant-based compounds) that, as the editors of "The American Pharmaceutical Association's Practical Guide to Natural Medicines" state, protect the liver from toxins such as carbon teterachloride. This herb serves as an adaptogen, which, like other herbs in this category, helps the body adapt to stress and trauma. Schisandra is useful to patients suffering from hepatitis and other liver disorders.