Complementary and Alternative Medicine for Liver Diseases

Abstract

Fibrosis in the liver can result in portal hypertension and structural changes, eventually progressing to cirrhosis or hepatocellular carcinoma. Liver fibrosis is caused by the activation of liver hepatic stellate cells. Treatment of liver fibrosis may involve the induction of apoptosis or prevention of activation of activated hepatic stellate cells. A novel therapeutic strategy for treating liver fibrosis caused by hepatic stellate cells may be developed through complementary and alternative therapies. Therefore, in this article, we discuss recent investigations into the complementary and alternative medicine as a means of preventing and treating liver fibrosis.