Hepatitis C is a liver disease caused by the hepatitis C virus, or HCV, which is usually spread through contact with infected blood. People infected with hepatitis C may not show any symptoms in the early stages, but the virus invades the liver and initiates chronic liver inflammation. The end-stage symptoms of hepatitis C are liver failure and liver cancer. Increasingly, medicinal herbs are being used for the treatment of patients infected with hepatitis C.
Milk Thistle
Milk thistle is a medicinal plant indigenous to Europe. Milk thistle fruits and seeds are popular herbal remedies in Europe and the United States for various types of liver and bile ailments. A polyphenolic flavonoid called silymarin can be isolated from the seeds of milk thistle and is believed to be the chief medicinal ingredient accounting for milk thistle's potent cytoprotectant effects on the liver, according to the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. A cytoprotectant is a medication that provides protection to cells against harmful toxins. People sometimes also use milk thistle to reduce symptoms that hepatitis C might cause.
Ginseng
Ginseng is a family of plants. The two most commonly used species are Asian ginseng and American ginseng. Traditional practitioners use ginseng to improve liver function. The pharmacological activities of ginseng for hepatitis C prevention are under clinical investigation. But, in-vivo and animal studies have already demonstrated that ginseng products can suppress inflammation and DNA damage associated with hepatitis C, according to the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine.
Licorice
Licorice, whose scientific name is Glycyrrhiza glabra, is a flavorful herb that has been used for over 4,000 years as a healing agent. The medicinal capabilities of licorice root are probably due to its functional ingredients glycyrrhizin and numerous flavonoids. An injectable form of licorice is used in patients with hepatitis C. It has been reported that the antiviral effect of glycyrrhizin against HCV is particularly useful in treating hepatitis C.
