Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) is a familiar adverse drug reaction (ADR), which possesses a serious threat to health further affecting the disease treatments. Currently, no targeted clinical drugs are available for DILI. 

Traditional natural medicines are utilized as health products largely, with some having specific hepatoprotective effects, with few side effects and significant clinical efficacy. Thus, natural medicines may serve as a promising approach for DILI treatment. 

In clinical practice, the use of single medications to treat DILI is rare (i.e., mainly for natural drug combinations), however they are frequently used to treat antituberculosisS drug-induced liver injury. On investigating Natural drugs and their combinations used to treat DILI it was found that the use frequency of natural drugs (e.g., SC, Glycyrrhiza uralensis and Artemisia capillaris) was elevated, with excellent investigation potential and application prospects.

Schisandra chinensis (SC) is a natural drug with great potential for the treatment of DILI, as its active components greatly improve the liver function of patients and exert significant therapeutic effects on DILI, with adverse reactions occurring in very few. About 10 related preparations based on SC or its bioactive components, like bicyclol, bifendate, gandening, Wuzhi capsules and Liuwei Wuling tablets, are used in the clinical treatment of elevated transaminase levels caused by different liver diseases.  

Natural drugs may exercise a protective effect on DILI by impeding lipid peroxidation, facilitating the recovery of the liver cell membrane, eradicating oxygen free radicals, interfering mitochondrial dysfunction, relieving cholestasis, repairing a balanced Ca2+ concentration and hindering the secretion of inflammatory factors. The presence of a diversity of chemical components in natural drugs makes them targets in the treatment of diseases. 

Thus, Natural drugs are a real treasure worth developing and utilizing as new drugs. They may serve as an important method to treat DILI in the future.

Source: Chin Med. 2021;16(1):135. Published 2021 Dec 11. doi:10.1186/s13020-021-00543-x