Uses

  • Liver Support
  • Liver-toxic Herbs
  • Herbs, Liver-toxic
  • Gilbert Syndrome
  • Cholestasis

The liver is an organ in the upper right part of the stomach. It keeps the blood filtered and clean. Liver disease causes the organ to stop working as it should. This may cause problems like fatigue, nausea, and yellow skin.

Healthy habits can help promote liver health. Natural therapies have been used to ease symptoms of liver disease. They should not be used in place of standard care.

Natural Therapies

Likely Effective

Fish oil is a nutrient that can be taken as a pill or oil. It is likely to reduce triglycerides and raise HDL (“good”) cholesterol levels. A2

May Be Effective

These therapies may be effective:

  • Probiotics are good bacteria that can be taken as a food product like yogurt or as a supplement. A1
  • S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAMe) is a compound found naturally in the body. A6

Not Enough Data to Assess

Editorial process and description of evidence categories can be found at EBSCO NAT Editorial Process.

Editorial process and description of evidence categories can be found at EBSCO NAT Editorial Process.

Herbs and Supplements to Be Used With Caution

Talk to your doctor about any supplements or therapy you would like to use. Some can interfere with treatment or make conditions worse.

References

Herbs and Supplements

REFA1 Liu JE, Zhang Y, et al. Probiotic yogurt effects on intestinal flora of patients with chronic liver disease. Nurs Res. 2010;59(6):426-432.

REFA2 Zhu W, Dong C, et al. Effects of fish oil on serum lipid profile in dialysis patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Lipids Health Dis. 2014;13:127.

REFA3 Bjelakovic G, Nikolova D, et al. Vitamin D supplementation for chronic liver diseases in adults. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2017 Nov 3;11:CD011564.

REFA4 Hong M, Li S, et al. Current Status of Herbal Medicines in Chronic Liver Disease Therapy: The Biological Effects, Molecular Targets and Future Prospects. Int J Mol Sci. 2015 Dec 2;16(12):28705-28745.

REFA5 Martí-Carvajal AJ, Solà I. Vitamin K for upper gastrointestinal bleeding in people with acute or chronic liver diseases. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2015 Jun 9;(6):CD004792.

REFA6 Guo T, Chang L, et al. S-adenosyl-L-methionine for the treatment of chronic liver disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS One. 2015 Mar 16;10(3):e0122124.

Nutritional Support

REFB1 Koretz RL, Avenell A, et al. Nutritional support for liver disease. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2012;(5):CD008344.

Revision Information

  • Reviewer: EBSCO NAT Review Board Eric Hurwitz, DC
  • Review Date: 11/2019
  • Update Date: 06/08/2020