A healthy liver will benefit your entire body. The liver produces bile and metabolizes proteins, fats and carbohydrates to aid digestion. It also protects your body by screening out toxins. Any substance, including drugs, taken by mouth must first pass through the liver before going to other parts of the body. Some herbs treat liver diseases and to support, tone and protect this important body organ.
Dandelion
Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) root tea or tincture relieves jaundice and inflammation of liver congestion. Dandelion contains the plant chemical taraxasterol, which has anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor properties. Dandelion can induce apoptosis, or cell death, in liver cancer cells, according to the journal Life Sciences.
Milk thistle
Milk thistle (Silybum marianum) is a traditional liver tonic with protective action against hepatitis, cancer and the poisonous amanita mushroom known as the deathcap. The silymarin flavonoids in milk thistle seeds are anti-inflammatory and can stimulate liver cell production. They appear to be the plant's primary active chemicals. As a tea or tincture, milk thistle is used for all liver diseases.
Balmony
Balmony (Chelone glabra), also known as white turtlehead because of its pointy white flowers, is a bitter herb that stimulates appetite, improves bile secretion and aids digestion. Bitter herbs also relieve liver congestion due to a buildup of toxins or reduction of liver bile. Balmony is a useful herb for toning and supporting the liver and the entire digestive system.
Spanish Needles
Spanish needles (Bidens pilosa) is considered a common weed in many parts of the world, but it is an important medicinal herb in Chinese and Taiwanese medicine. The plant contains flavonoids that have liver protective properties. A study in the 2009 issue of the journal Acta Cirurgica Brasileira found that a water extract of the plant protected liver cells against damage from bile blockage and slowed the rate of cell death.
Barberry
Barberry (Berberis vulgaris) is a potent liver tonic. One of the plant's common names is jaundice berry, because barberry promotes the flow of bile and is used when there is liver congestion and jaundice. Do not use barberry if you are pregnant or breastfeeding.
Kudzu
Kudzu (Pueraria lobata) has been used for centuries in traditional Chinese medicine. In a 2007 study in the Archives of Pharmacal Research, a potent antioxidant in kudzu, known as puerarin, protected liver cells from environmental damage due to carbon tetrachloride, a commonly used toxic agent until it was banned in the United States in 1970.
References
- "Life Sciences"; Taraxacum officinale induces cytotoxicity through TNF-alpha and IL-1alpha secretion in Hep G2 cells; Koo HN, Hong SH, Song BK, Kim CH, Yoo YH, Kim HM; January 2004
- "Acta Cirurgica Brasileira"; An acqueous extract of Bidens pilosa L. protects liver from cholestatic disease: experimental study in young rats. Suzigan MI, Battochio AP, Coelho KL, Coelho CA; September 2009
- "Archives of Pharmacal Research"; Protective effects of puerarin on carbon tetrachloride-induced hepatotoxicity; Hwang YP, Choi CY, Chung YC, Jeon SS, Jeong HG; October 2007
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