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Herbal Medicines for the Treatment of Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis

  • Fatty Liver Disease (D Halegoua-De Marzio, Section Editor)
  • Published:
Current Hepatology Reports Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose of Review

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease encompasses both, nonalcoholic fatty liver and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). The prevalence of NASH is rising globally and has become one of the leading causes of chronic liver disease and indications for liver transplantation. Its complex and multifaceted pathophysiology makes the management of NASH challenging. In the absence of effective pharmacotherapies, there has been an increasing interest for the use of herbal medicines/supplements in the treatment of NASH. Here we review some of the more popular herbal medicines/supplements used to treat NASH.

Recent Findings

In the last decade, there have been numerous herbal medicines which have been studied as treatments for NASH with promising results in animal studies and in vitro studies. The data however is conflicting in clinical trials and lacking with regard to long-term safety and hepatotoxicity.

Summary

Herbal medicines have continued to gain popularity as treatment options for NASH given their easy accessibility and paucity of FDA-approved pharmacotherapies. The data to support the use of these products for NASH remains inconclusive and at this time, there is no herbal medicine which should be recommended in the treatment of NASH.

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Abbreviations

ALT:

Alanine aminotransferase

AMPK:

AMP-activated protein kinase

BBR:

Berberine

EGCG:

Epigallocatechin-3-gallate

FDA:

Food and Drug Administration

GTE:

Green tea extract

HCC:

Hepatocellular carcinoma

HDS:

Herbal and dietary supplements

HFD:

High-fat diet

HM:

Herbal medicines

HS:

Herbal supplements

LSI:

Lifestyle intervention

NAFL:

Nonalcoholic fatty liver

NAFLD:

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

NASH:

Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis

NF-kB:

Nuclear factor-kappa B

NHANES:

National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey

RCT:

Randomized control trial

RSV:

Resveratrol

SIRT1:

sirtuin-1

TNF:

Tumor necrosis factor

US:

United States

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Digestive Diseases and Transplantation, Einstein Healthcare Network, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Naemat Sandhu & Jennifer Au

  2. University hospitals Cleveland medical center, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA

    Naemat Sandhu

  3. Scripps Center for Organ Transplant, Scripps Green Hospital, 10666 N Torrey Pines Road, N 200, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA

    Jennifer Au

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Sandhu, N., Au, J. Herbal Medicines for the Treatment of Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis. Curr Hepatology Rep 20, 1–11 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11901-020-00558-2

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